Only 3 sets
of remains await
sea burial by
Navy in Pacific

A backlog in the East was
noted after the JFK Jr. burial

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The Navy's decision to bury John F. Kennedy, his wife and her sister at sea has raised a fuss on the mainland because of a backlog of requests.

However, no backlog exists at Pearl Harbor nor has the Navy's decision raised any eyebrows here.

Only three sets of remains await burial in the Pacific Ocean, says Agnes Tauyan, Pearl Harbor spokeswoman.

Tauyan said Pearl Harbor has never had a backlog and that two sets of remains will be buried in Hawaiian waters within a week. "The family of the third set has requested burial near Japan," she said.

Tauyan said it takes from 45 to 60 days to fulfill a burial at sea request.

The Navy is trying to clear up a backlog of 49 sets of human remains awaiting to be buried at sea on the East Coast. The backlog was revealed last week after the Navy helped locate the body of Kennedy, the 38-year-old son of President Kennedy; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette.

Then it rushed the destroyer Briscoe from a training exercise to Martha's Vineyard to serve as the burial ship. The trio died in a private plane crash July 16.

Some East Coast service families complained that the Navy was giving higher priority to Kennedy, bypassing those waiting.

Paul Gagnon, president of 5,800-member Navy League in Hawaii, said he hasn't heard any complaints over what the Navy did in helping the Kennedy family.

Burial at sea is available to anyone killed on active duty and veterans with honorable discharges, U.S. civilian personnel of the Military Sealift Command and military dependents.

At Pearl Harbor, burials at sea are handled by a warship or a submarine on routine patrol. If a veteran requests a certain spot in the ocean, those requests are honored by the next naval vessel going in that direction.

Service members who have been certified by the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association as being in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack can have their ashes scattered over the waters where the Pacific war began. Since the program began in 1995, 38 survivors have requested this service.

The Pentagon also can extend burial at sea to "U.S. citizens who are determined eligible by the chief of naval operations ... due to notable service or outstanding contribution to the U.S."

Kennedy fell into this category, the Pentagon has said.

The backlog in the Atlantic Fleet was blamed on the reduced number of ships and increased demand on the remaining ships to participate in operations and exercises. The backlog is supposed to be remedied by the end of the week.

Burials are held during maneuvers Burials at sea Burials at sea are per-formed by naval vessels on official maneuvers. Family members usually cannot be on board. This is how many burials Pearl Harbor has performed: 1995: 20 1996: 18 1997: 20 1998: 34 1999: 13 Ashes to Pearl Veterans who served in any branch of the military and were on active duty or within three miles of Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941, are eligible to have their ashes scattered over the waters of Pearl Harbor. This is how many have requested this service: 1996: 5 1997: 9 1998: 15 1999: 9 Battleship honor Survivors of the 1941 Japanese attack on the USS Arizona have the special privilege of having their remains entombed on the sunken battleship in Pearl Harbor. To date, 14 survivors have been laid to rest in gun Turret 4 near the stern. The program started in 1982. Gregg K. Kakesako