Burial of the Dead
Upon our arrival in Brest we had on board 96 dead soldiers and three sailors. 58 of the former were buried in France, 33 were brought back to the States and seven were buried at sea in the war zone on the morning after we left Brest. We remained in Brest three days and left on the third evening at 5:30 P. M. The next morning at sunrise, after an imposing prayer by the chaplain, the flag was half-masted, taps were sounded, three volleys fired and the coffins containing the bodies of the dead soldiers were lowered gently into the sea. The ship was speeding at 21½ knots.
After seven days of mostly fair weather and without trouble from submarines, we docked in New York on the morning of October 16th. It was a nerve-racking voyage and we were all greatly relieved that the trip was over.