ME3 Shaun Lin

Captains,

The tragic loss of Coast Guardsman Shaun Lin last week brought to mind this passage from Chapter VI of Dana's classic 'Two Years Before the Mast'.

RADM W

"Death is at all times solemn, but never so much so as at sea....at sea, the man is near you—at your side—you hear his voice, and in an instant he is gone, and nothing but a vacancy shows his loss. Then, too, at sea—to use a homely but expressive phrase—you miss a man so much. A dozen men are shut up together in a little bark, upon the wide, wide sea, and for months and months see no forms and hear no voices but their own and one is taken suddenly from among them, and they miss him at every turn. It is like losing a limb. There are no new faces or new scenes to fill up the gap. There is always an empty berth in the forecastle, and one man wanting when the small night watch is mustered. There is one less to take the wheel and one less to lay out with you upon the yard. You miss his form, and the sound of his voice, for habit had made them almost necessary to you, and each of your senses feels the loss." Richard Henry Dana Jr. 1815-1852

PORTSMOUTH, Va. October 15, 2010 – The Coast Guard has identified the body of the Coast Guardsman who died after falling into the James River near Newport News during a training exercise Wednesday.

Deceased is Petty Officer 3rd Class Shaun Lin, 23, of New York. Lin, a Maritime Enforcement Specialist, has served the Coast Guard for approximately 3 years.

The victim's next of kin have been notified and support services are being provided to his family, as well as Coast Guard crewmembers.

At approximately 9:15 p.m., Wednesday Oct. 13, Lin, a member of the Maritime Safety and Security Team New York fell from a ladder into the James River while attempting to transfer from a Maritime Safety and Security Team 25-foot small boat to the Coast Guard Cutter Frank Drew during a training exercise in the vicinity of the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel near Newport News.

The crew aboard the small boat attempted a recovery but lost sight of the overboard crewmember.

An immediate search began with surface and air assets as well as a sub-surface search with local police and fire dive teams and side scan sonar.