Bodies of 11 Servicemen Returned
Under clear and sunny skies, the bodies of 11 servicemen killed in Operation Desert Shield accidents were returned to the United States on Thursday.
Navy and Marine Corps officials received the bodies of the 10 sailors killed Tuesday in an accident aboard the assault ship Iwo Jima and that of a Marine killed in a vehicle accident.
Military personnel saluted as each coffin was brought out of the C-141 Starlifter transport aircraft. An honor guard of sailors and Marines carried the metal coffins one by one from the aircraft and loaded them onto hearses.
No families were present at the hourlong ceremony.
Also Thursday, an honor guard fired a 21-gun salute and a lone bugler sounded taps at a memorial service for the sailors killed aboard the Iwo Jima. The service was held aboard the ship, docked in Bahrain.
About 1,000 military personnel, including Marines in battle dress and sailors in dungarees, snapped to attention during the tribute. They stood motionless on deck, moving only to wipe away a tear or bow their heads during the 40-minute ceremony.
The 10 sailors died after an accident Tuesday released a burst of superheated steam in the boiler room of the Iwo Jima, an assault ship that is a helicopter launching pad for a U.S. Marine force.
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