Navy Will Pay For Former Novi Man's Funeral

NOVI, MI — As of Sunday, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers had recovered the remains of all 10 USS John S. McCain sailors killed when the McCain collided with a merchant vessel on August 21, according to a U.S. Navy news release. The remains of former Novi resident of Kenneth Aaron Smith were recovered on Thursday.

Smith attended Novi schools and later moved to Virginia before moving to New Jersey and attending Cherry Hill High School East. Smith was an Electronics Technician 3rd Class.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made for Smith. His mother, April Brandon of Milford, said in a Facebook post Sunday, the Navy would be handling his funeral expenses. She urged everyone that had contributed to a GoFundMe account for those expenses to seek a refund.

"Any donations that are left unclaimed I will donate to a foster care organization and human trafficking survivors safe house that my friend works at and is extremely underfunded," Brandon wrote in the post. "My son would have liked that."

The fallen Sailors recovered are:

• Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Amazonia, Missouri
• Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from Poughkeepsie, New York
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, Connecticut
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas
• Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois

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The collision between the McCain and the merchant vessel Alnic MC in waters east of the Straits of Malacca in Singapore remains under investigation, the Navy said.

Hope for finding Smith alive remained strong right up until his body was discovered. A candlelight vigil was held near downtown Milford, where his mother April Brandon lives. Prayers were said for Smith and a prayer quilt was presented to Brandon.

“Please keep hope, continue forward with your day, hug your family, love one another, pray or vibe positively, whatever it is you do,” Brandon wrote in a Facebook post on Aug. 22. “To the families of the other missing sailors, you're in my thoughts, my heart is at sea with yours.”

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy