Navy Officer Killed by Bomb Is Buried

ARLINGTON, Va. — A U.S. naval officer killed by a terrorist car bomb last week in Athens was buried Wednesday with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Capt. William Nordeen, 51, of Centuria, Wis., was interred after a brief religious graveside service that followed a private ceremony in a cemetery chapel attended by about 400 people.

Nordeen, defense and naval attache at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, was killed June 28 by a car bomb detonated by remote control as he drove past. He was thrown from his car by the blast.

Flag Presented to Widow

Nordeen’s body was carried to the cemetery on a black caisson draped with the American flag and drawn by six white horses. It was preceded by the Navy Band playing “Onward Christian Soldiers.”

After the firing of three volleys by a Navy honor guard and the playing of “Taps,” the flag over Nordeen’s coffin was folded and presented to his widow, Patricia Anne Nordeen, sitting next to her daughter, Annabel Charlotte Nordeen, 12. Nordeen’s mother, Edna Helena Capello, also was presented a flag by an honor guard.

Attending the funeral were Nordeen’s brother, Navy Capt. Michael Brent, Navy Secretary William L. Ball III and George D. Papoulias, Greek ambassador to the United States.