WW2 burying a gunner at sea with his aircraft - GIF

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Air Group 15 (VT-15) took off mid-morning. When they reached their destination, they encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire from a Japanese cruiser.

“Denzek told me over the intercom that Deen was hit bad. Then, Denzek came back up thru the small passage way to sit in the cabin behind me. He stayed there until we landed.” Capt Cosgrove to the History Channel 2001

But Cosgrove’s plane had been hit, and the controls were badly damaged. The plane was truly un-flyable. It took all his strength and skill to get the aircraft back to the carrier. Two hours later, through two thunderstorms and extreme mechanical problems, he landed the crippled Avenger on the deck of the USS Essex.

One of his crew didn’t make it. And the gun turret was terribly crushed. The Navy took fingerprints, and removed Loyce Edward Deen’s dog tags. His body was so badly mangled that removing it would have been extremely difficult. They decided to leave him inside his plane, and bury him at sea.

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