Veterans Memorial Reef was founded in 2019, and has since laid 30 veterans to rest, placing their remains in a living memorial — the reef known as AR372, or Five-Mile Boxcar Reef.
As the name implies, it was formed from 10 railroad boxcars in the mid-80s, and is located about five miles off the coast of Wilmington, roughly due east of Caroline Beach Inlet.
Founder Thomas Marcinowski, who served 24 years, starting as a medic in the Air Force and later as an officer in the Army, first got the idea after reading about a memorial reef off the coast of Miami.
“I always want to be cremated and placed at sea, and I wondered if we could do something to represent veterans and recognize what they’ve done,” Marcinowski said.
Veterans Memorial Reef allows family members to create personalized aquatic urns, which Marcinowski likened to a time capsule. Those urns are then sealed into a memorial marker on the reef. There is a cost — around $4,500 — but Marcinowski noted it’s tax-deductible.
Before the urns and markers are taken to the reef, Marcinowski said the veterans get proper military honors.
“We have a full-blown ceremony, as if you're in Arlington, with honor guard for each branch of service. We play taps, and the Wilmington Police Department Pipes and Drums have offered to play amazing grace for us during the ceremony,” he said.
Veterans Memorial Reef helps address the increasingly limited space in Arlington and other federal cemeteries, with space for roughly 2,500 veterans — and their spouses, an option some families have taken.
It’s also part of an eco-friendly attempt to develop the reef environment, which they identified with the help of the state officials. The original boxcars have more or less washed away, Marcinwoski said, but their work helps continue to build out the reef.
Families ride a charter boat out to the location and watch their loved ones laid to rest on the ocean floor. Marcinowski noted that the markers are positioned with the plaques facing east, to catch the morning sunrise.
