Whale surfaces as Coast Guard honors fallen at sea (photo)

Photographer Ben King of Newport, Ore., captured a magical moment during the 80th annual Fleet of Flowers ceremony on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, in Depoe Bay.

As a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hovered offshore and lowered a rescue swimmer to place a ceremonial wreath in the ocean honoring the unknown soldier, a gray whale surfaced below, sending up a misty spout of water. “A big whale gives its blessings,” King wrote in a Facebook post.

The wreath drop marked the beginning of the ceremony, followed by a procession of about a dozen flower-covered boats that circled offshore and cast additional wreaths, bound with cedar, into the sea.

A gray whale surfaced beneath a Coast Guard helicopter during Depoe Bay’s Fleet of Flowers, a Memorial Day tribute honoring lives lost at sea.

Courtesy of Ben King, Out West P

Fleet of Flowers began in 1945

to honor Roy Bower and John Chambers, two local fishermen who died while trying to rescue a fellow mariner. It has since grown into a cherished Memorial Day tradition on the central Oregon coast, honoring all military members, seafarers and lives lost at sea.

King took the photo while aboard Whale Research Eco Excursions. “Right time, right place, I guess,” he said.

A gray whale surfaced beneath a Coast Guard helicopter during Depoe Bay’s Fleet of Flowers, a Memorial Day tribute honoring lives lost at sea.

Courtesy of Ben King, Out West P