For some reason that goes deep into the soul of a
sailor, he mourns over shipmates lost through the
dangers of the sea even more than for those killed by
the violence of the enemy. He feels that the least he
can do for those brave young men who went down doing
their duty on 18 December 1944 is to set forth at length
the causes and details of the catastrophe, in the hope
that it may never recur.
Sunset that Sunday evening was not one to cheer
the heart of a seaman, or to suggest hymn-singing,
unless "For Those in Peril on the Sea." A sinister
afterglow remained in the sky. The sea was deep black
except where the wind whipped off wave crests into
spindrift.
From Samuel Eliot Morison "History
of US Naval Operations in World War II" -
Source
To all
who gave so much....
And when
at length their course is run,
Their work for home and country done,
Of all the lost when last they sailed
Let not one soul in thee have failed;
But hear from heaven those sailor's cry,
And grant them eternal life on high!
