A Mother’s Prayer

Mrs. T. H. Peters

Sleep gently, my son,
Where the waters are deep —
God’s Love does enshroud you
Treasures you there —
Lie peaceful, my son.

Sleep gently, my son,
Where the waters are blue —
God’s bosom enfolds you
Cradles you there —
Lie peaceful, my son.

Sleep gently, my son,
Where the waters run warm —
God’s angels wing round you
“Eternal ‘Roger’,” Loved one!
Wait peaceful, my son.

On Flag Day, 14 June 1949, a young student pilot, Midshipman Thomas H. Peters, USN, crashed-landed in the sea 33 miles from his base at NAAS Cabaniss Field, Tex., as a result of engine failure. His gunnery instructor watched helplessly from another plane as Midshipman Peters, possibly unconscious, was carried down with his craft.

Later, his grief-stricken mother, Mrs. T. H. Peters, of Passaic, N. J., wrote a short memorial poem in honor of Midshipman Peters – a poem which might be of condolence to mothers of other Navy men whose last resting place is the unknown deep of the sea.