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Sailors from the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard and the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Band conduct full military funeral honors with escort for U.S. Navy Cmdr. Raymond Stoetzer in Section 31 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, July 9, 2026.
Stoetzer entered active duty with the U.S. Navy in 1957. In April 1963, the USS Thresher, a nuclear submarine, sank about 220 miles east of Cape Cod. It was the worst submarine disaster in U.S. Navy history with all 129 men on board perishing. Stoetzer was assigned to the fleet tug USS Allegheny as part of the Navy’s crew searching for the wreckage. More than two months later, the crew discovered the Thresher’s debris field (as the submarine had imploded due to a piping system failure flooding the engine room).
Stoetzer would go on to earn his master’s degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and work for the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey in Washington, D.C. There, he would travel to various countries to inspect submarines obtained by the United States. He retired from the Navy in 1976 with over 18 years of active-duty service.
His spouse, Barbara Stoetzer, received the U.S. flag from his funeral service.
(U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2026 15:44 |
| Photo ID: | 9841106 |
| VIRIN: | 260709-A-IW468-3097 |
| Resolution: | 7436x4957 |
| Size: | 7.37 MB |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 4 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Full Military Funeral Honors with Escort are Conducted for U.S. Navy Cmdr. Raymond Stoetzer in Section 31 [Image 13 of 13], by Elizabeth Fraser, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Navy Officer Who Charted USS Thresher Wreckage Interred at Arlington National Cemetery
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