Thursday, March 28, 2024

This Virginia Beach sailor laid his WWII veteran great-grandfather to rest at sea

Leadership of the USS Winston S. Churchill salute during a burial at sea ceremony April 23. (Southside Daily photo/Taken by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Evan Thompson)
Leadership of the USS Winston S. Churchill salute during a burial at sea ceremony April 23. (Southside Daily photo/Taken by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Evan Thompson)

As the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill transited the calm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, sailors in dress blue uniforms lined the ship’s flight deck and prepared for a somber sea burial ceremony.

That was how Navy spokesman Brian Glunt described the scene.

For Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Robert Ashman, who lives in Virginia Beach and was temporarily assigned to the USS Churchill, the ceremony was more than just a Navy tradition — it was Ashman’s chance to pay respects to his great-grandfather, World War II veteran James Mitchell.

Ashman was born in Waukegan, Illinois and moved to Virginia Beach shortly after because his father was in the Navy.

Ashman joined the Navy in February 2015, and after attending advanced technical training and “A” school to become a gunner’s mate, he reported to the USS Gerald R. Ford shortly before its commissioning, according to a news release from Glunt.

For Ashman, joining the Navy wasn’t only about serving his country; it was about continuing down the path that had been started three generations before him when his great-grandfather joined.

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“The Navy became a tradition in my family when my father joined and became a third-generation sailor,” Ashman said. “I knew I wanted to continue that from pretty early on.”

When Ashman boarded Churchill for deployment, he had no idea the ship would be committing his great-grandfather’s remains to the sea a few weeks later.

“I saw the list of names of the people we were going to be burying at sea; I saw the name ‘James Mitchell,’ and I thought it was a coincidence,” Ashman said. “Then I saw that his rank was the same as my great-grandfather — chief signalman — and shortly after that, my dad messaged me and confirmed they were really his ashes.”

Ashman said when he was asked to take part in the ceremony, it felt like the right thing to do.

“I loved my great-grandfather to the moon and back,” Ashman said. “It was a huge coincidence that I ended up going on deployment on the same ship that was carrying his remains.”

Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Robert Ashman holds the remains of his great-grandfather, World War II veteran Chief Signalman James Mitchell, during a burial-at-sea ceremony on the flight deck of the USS Winston S. Churchill (Southside Daily photo/Taken by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Evan Thompson)
Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Robert Ashman holds the remains of his great-grandfather, World War II veteran Chief Signalman James Mitchell, during a burial at sea ceremony on the flight deck of the USS Winston S. Churchill (Southside Daily photo/Taken by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Evan Thompson)

Ashman stood at the end of a long red carpet lain on the flight deck, lined with sailors in dress blues on each side, with his great-grandfather’s urn in hand.

Opposite Ashman stood the ship’s chaplain, ready to receive the remains and commit them to the sea. Two notes were struck on the ship’s bell. Over the loudspeakers, a voice was heard: “Chief Signalman James Mitchell, departing,” Glunt said in the news release..

As the boatswain’s mate began to pipe, the sailors lining the sides produced crisp salutes and Ashman walked down the aisle. Ashman stood at attention and watched as the chaplain took the remains, now covered in an American flag, and deposited them in the calm Mediterranean water, Glunt said.

Ashman said it was fate that put him on the USS Churchill that day, April 23.

“In a way, it felt like it was meant to be,” he said.

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