This gunner is the only sailor buried at sea — inside his plane

This gunner is the only sailor buried at sea — inside his plane

It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. In episode 12 of “Victory at Sea,” the 1953 documentary series captured several solemn burials at sea — but one naval burial stood out from the rest. Twenty-three-year-old Loyce Edward Deen, an aviation machinist mate, was the first and only aviator buried at sea inside his airplane. It was part necessity — his TBM Avenger was so badly shot up by 40mm anti-aircraft shells that the removal of Deen would h…