On 7 April, after visiting Guadalcanal and Purvis Bay, Clipper Odyssey stood out from Tulagi Harbor and hove to over Laffey’s remains about three miles southeast of Savo Island. At this close range, the island’s features could easily be observed—a rugged, even corrugated landscape with many steep “edges” and some individual trees standing out in silhouette on the skyline.
As sunset approached, Clipper Odyssey Capt. Frank Allica led a memorial service, which included remarks by Cary Webb Sears, daughter of Laffey’s commanding officer, LCdr. William E. Hank, who was three years old at the time of her father’s death and had not previously visited the Solomon Islands. Other speakers included Ted Lyster, son of a Juneau crewmember lost with that ship, and lecturers Bob Reynolds and Fred Douglass, who had located the position of Laffey’s wreck.
This most memorable service concluded with the veterans tossing wreaths overboard and a photo session. Then, under way again, Clipper Odyssey executed an “S”-turn in the tradition of Laffey’s own Destroyer Squadon 12 before setting a course up the “Slot” in the gathering darkness.
 |
 |
