NORFOLK, Va. — Even the coronavirus outbreak couldn’t keep them apart.
Today, family members, friends and shipmates from the USS Iowa came together—virtually—on this, the 31st anniversary of the explosion that killed 47 Norfolk-based sailors.
They did not let the global pandemic stop them from honoring their shipmates as they do every April 19th. Instead, the USS Iowa crew turned to technology.
They held their annual memorial service through the video teleconference web site Zoom.
One by one, each of the 47 names was read, from A to Z, from Adams to Ziegler.
A moment was taken to honor the memory of each sailor who died that day, when, the World War II era battleship’s Number Two turret exploded.
“You heard each name, you think of that life, how that person ended up on the ship and in the turret that day," said retired Captain Larry Seaquist, who served as Iowa's commanding officer from 1986 until 1988. "You know what wonderful people they were and the lives, the potential that was taken away."
“They became a part of each of us, and we became a part of them," said former Iowa sailor Brad Goforth . "So, when our shipmates left us on that fateful day, a little bit of us went with them. That’s why, 31 years later, we can still see their faces in our minds.”
Although not together in person, the Iowa family was together in spirit this day, thanks to the Internet, and, thanks to a bond that goes back to 1989 that they’ll share forever.
