The U.S. Navy buried at sea the dead of the USS Lexington crew who were victims of a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane attack. Officers and crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington stand by to bury at sea the bodies of the dead from the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines.

 　　The U.S. Navy buries at sea the dead of the crew of the USS Lexington, victims of a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane attack. Officers and crew of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington stand by as they bury at sea the bodies of their fallen aircraft carrier crew during the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines. On any given voyage or naval battle, officers and soldiers who died of disease or killed in action would be wrapped in white cloth and given a solemn burial ceremony at sea, after which their bodies would be thrown overboard, known as a sea burial.

　A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-16) was hit by a kamikaze special attack aircraft on November 5, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines, wrecking the right center battle bridge structure. A kamikaze special attack plane, which did not survive and was killed in action when it was hit by a body blowout and self-destructed with the fighter's explosives, hit the Lexington's machine gun turret. Gasoline for the fighter ignited, causing serious damage and a large fire. After the large fire was extinguished, 47 American soldiers were killed in action and 127 were wounded in action as a result of suffocation and burning to death. Three kamikaze special attack planes were shot down by U.S. Navy anti-aircraft fire, but a fourth slipped through and struck the Lexington, exploding. During the Battle of Leyte, a kamikaze special attack plane hit near the island, destroying most of the island's structure and causing multiple fires. 

 After the Battle of Leyte, kamikaze aircraft appeared frequently: on October 30, 1944, U.S. Navy ships Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and Franklin (CV-13) were attacked and kamikaze aircraft crashed into the flight decks of both carriers; on November 5, Lexington (Lexington, CV-16) suffered casualties and damage when a Japanese aircraft crashed near the central battle bridge.

　On November 25, in an attack on U.S.S. Cabot (CVL-28), a kamikaze suicide plane crashed on the port side of the flight deck, destroying the gun mount; a second plane crashed near the port side, sending debris and burnt remains flying into the light carrier; on November 25, Essex (CV-9) was also hit by a kamikaze suicide plane, damaging the flight deck port side; two days later, St. Louis (CL-49) was hit by a series of kamikaze suicide planes on her port side; on 29 November, Maryland (BB-46) was damaged between turrets 1 and 2 by a deliberate Japanese attack; and on 7 November, Maryland (BB-45) was hit by a kamikaze suicide plane on her port side.

  During the Ormoc Bay landings on December 7, 1944, Ward (APD-16) and Lamson (DD-367) were attacked by kamikaze suicide planes and did not escape damage; during the Mindoro landings on December 15, many US Navy ships were attacked by kamikaze suicide planes. Fighter planes from Yokosuka attacked Ommani Bay (CVE-79) but were intercepted; LST-472 and LST-738 were also attacked and lost to kamikaze suicide planes.