Bury Them at Sea

The Navy announcement that more than 850 lives were lost in the sinking of two North Atlantic passenger-cargo ships had driven home the U-boat peril to the U.S. (TIME, March 1). The horror came home with Signalman Robert Weikart, whose ship was the first to reach the spot where one of the torpedoed vessels went down. Said Weikart:

"We got word that a ship had been sunk during the night. I was on the signal tower when we reached the spot, just as dawn was lighting the scene.

"We saw hundreds of bodies in the water and lifeboats full of men swirled about us. It took me a while to figure out why we did not stop to pick any of them Up--they were frozen to death at the oars of their lifeboats.

"I saw the sea dotted with bobbing heads in life jackets. I started counting, but realized there were hundreds so I gave up. The attack must have been a complete surprise for many of the men had not had time to dress. They jumped into the boats with only life jackets, if they had time to grab them.

"We left them there--that's the best thing. All sailors want to be buried at sea anyway."

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