Notice what I missed? I didn't take a picture of the name on the grave. A little Google research revealed the individual was Lt. John M. Purse. The battleship Illinois was caught in a storm and Lt. Purse was thrown against a hatch receiving internal injuries which proved fatal. Only one other sailor was killed. He was a sailor from the Minnesota who was swept overboard and drowned.
What about the battleship Illinois that Lt. Purse served aboard? It was BB-7 a pre-dreadnought battleship not BB-65 the Iowa class battleship of World War 2. It was the lead ship of the Illinois class of three ships. They were the Illinois, Wisconsin and Alabama. The ships were built between 1896 and 1901. The improvements over the prior class included the first modern gun turrets for the main battery and rapid firing secondary guns. The life of these ships was rather short and by 1912 they were reduced to reserve fleet status and used as training ships. The Illinois was decomissioned in 1920. It was brought back to service in 1941 and renamed the Prairie State. Eventually being sold for scrap in 1956.
So, there are thousands of graves in Bonaventure Cemetery. Thousands of stories. You never know which ones will touch you when you walk through. While we don't know much about Lt. John M. Purse we do know a bit about him, his service to our country and the ship he died aboard.
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