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Coast Guard honors a final request By Auxiliarist Edwin Greenfield, Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. - Early in the afternoon of July 6, the earthly remains of Coast Guard Auxiliarist Pearl Kaufmann were spread on the blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean. With concern and dignity, Kaufmann’s ashes were consigned to the deep - this to the plaintive sounds of a bugle rendering “Taps,” the traditional military melody accorded to a veteran at burial. Kaufmann’s last request was to be buried at sea by her beloved Coast Guard. She had served more than 20 years as an auxiliarist while devoting the rest of her time to Palm Beach County as a public health nurse. Upon her passing in April, her husband, William Kaufmann, also an auxiliarist, requested the burial-at-sea. After days of rain, the sun broke through thinly scattered clouds and the seas were a welcoming calm as the boat got under way. Accompanying Mr. Kaufmann aboard the Coast Guard small boat, and taking part in the ceremony was their son, Richard, an environmental policeman in Maryland. Mr. Kaufmann, a World War II Coast Guard veteran, has volunteered at Station Lake Worth Inlet for a number of years in various capacities including weapons maintenance, chart updating and preparing gunnery targets. As special honor to Mrs. Kaufmann, Chief Petty Officer Brian Leavy, the executive petty officer of Station Lake Worth Inlet, commanded the boat bearing the burial party out to sea. Representing the auxiliary at the ceremony was Chris Abernethy, the station’s telecommunications watchstander. Auxiliarist Ed Greenfield, the station's public affairs officer, and Michael Galvin, former Palm Beach Chief of Police, were also in attendance. Coast Guard petty officers volunteered to round out the boat crew for Mrs. Kaufman's last voyage. -uscg- |
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