Hingham WWII Seaman Finally Honored After 65 Years

A Hingham seaman will finally receive a proper veteran gravestone on Thursday, something that was never placed on his burial spot when he was killed over 65 years ago during World War II.

In December of 1944, Linzee Sewell Hooper, a Seaman First Class of the United States Coast Guard drowned after he was crushed between his ship and a barge while working aboard the USS Cephus in Norfolk, VA during WWII. The Hooper family, who lived in Hingham, was immediately notified of the accident, but unfortunately the body was not recovered and they placed a cross at the family’s burial plot at the Hingham Cemetery.

Several months later on June 14, 1945  the 19-year-old seaman’s remains were found and transported back to Hingham.  The remains were buried at the family plot, but his tomb never received a veteran’s recognition.

Seaman Hooper’s gravesite would have never been properly marked if it weren’t for New Jersey resident Brenda Kosza.

Kosza’s father was standing next to Hooper when he was killed in 1944 and this past year she wanted to take photos of his gravesite when she visited the Boston area in the fall of 2011.

When she emailed Hingham Library Director Dennis R. Corcoran to see if he could identify where Hooper’s gravestone was located in town, Corcoran reached out to Hingham Veteran Service Director Keith Jermyn.

“I was curious about it and  I did some research and I passed on leads to Keith,” Corcoran said. “But I had no idea of the significance.”

Corcoran said he was thinking of his own father, an 86-year-old WWII army veteran, when he received the email and felt compelled to help Kosza and her father, who is still living.

“I felt the need to do this for the elderly gentlemen and bring some closure to his life,” Corcoran said.

When Jermyn was contacted, he knew nothing of where Hooper was buried.

After days of investigating, and searching for Hooper’s death certificate,  Jermyn discovered that Hooper was buried at the Hingham Cemetery and that he had never received a proper head stone like other veterans who had died during war. 

Jermyn then petitioned the United States Veterans Administration for a stone and succeeded.  Earlier this year, he received a marble footstone to properly identify veteran Hooper’s resting place.

This Thursday, June 14, exactly 67 years after Hooper’s remains were first buried; Jermyn and the Town of Hingham will properly recognized and memorialize this Hingham World War II hero.  The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. at the Hingham Cemetery.

“I’m just glad we followed the threads,” Corcoran said. “We both felt something special and I credit Keith with following through.”

The memorial will include a rifle salute, taps, a flag folding ceremony, and members of Hooper's family, who reside in the greater Boston area, have been invited.

“It’s a great tribute to this fallen sailor and it’s a great tribute to Dennis for following through with this,” Jermyn said.

If Hooper’s family attends the memorial on Thursday, Jermyn has planned to present them with a flag in honor of his service.  If they do not attend, Jermyn said he would give the flag to Corcoran for his hard work in solving this case.