2 Cole Sailors Are Laid to Rest

Patrick Howard Roy and Lakeina Monique Francis, two of the 17 sailors killed in the Oct. 12 bomb attack on the U.S. guided missile destroyer Cole in Yemen, were buried Saturday.

Roy’s burial at Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Md., was the first in 22 years at the cemetery, where most of the graves are those of Civil War soldiers.

Earlier, he was remembered in a ceremony at Salem United Methodist Church in his hometown of Keedysville, less than three miles from the famous Civil War battlefield.

Cars lined most of the route from the town to the cemetery, with many people displaying American flags as they watched the procession.

In North Carolina, the Navy recruiter who persuaded Francis to enlist just six months ago read a letter from her at her funeral. In it, she told Petty Officer Darnell Gamble how she did 100 sit-ups, 85 push-ups and ran a mile and a half in just over 12 minutes to pass a physical training test in boot camp. “This is a girl who couldn’t do five push-ups in her life,” Gamble said.

Francis was from Woodleaf, N.C., and was buried at the Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, N.C.