By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

A STIRRING slide presentation opened a heartfelt memorial service for the late USS Frank Cable Machinist Mate Chief Delfin Dulay on Saturday. He was 42.
Dulay sustained major injuries when a huge boiler exploded aboard the USS Frank Cable on Dec. 1, 2006.
Five months after the incident on May 1, Dulay passed away while being treated for his injuries at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
His passing came while his fellow USS Frank Cable chiefs were conducting a flag ceremony in his honor.
On Saturday, the USS Frank Cable, relatives and the community came out in full force for Dulay’s memorial service.
His colleagues said that Dulay, as a senior man, fought hard to save his ship and his fellow sailors.
Dulay proved to be a hero for keeping damage and casualties to a minimum. Unfortunately, Dulay lost his five-month battle to recover from injuries he sustained in the boiler incident.
Dulay was one of the eight sailors injured by steam in the accident. Machinery Repairman Fireman Jack B. Valentine, 20, died shortly after the incident. Dulay and five others were treated for months at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The USS Frank Cable has held numerous fund raising events for the injured sailors. Recently, during a motorcycle-poker-run and show, Dulay’s motorcycle was awarded best in show.
Command Master Chief Mark Fiorey, Chaplain Andrew Sholtes, and several of Dulay’s brother and sister chiefs conducted the memorial and service for Dulay.
About 350 friends, military personnel and civilians attended the memorial and shared the same grief as silence enveloped the chapel.
Lt. Anthony Pecoraro dedicated a poem titled, “Snipes Lament,” that spoke of the men who make the ship run but are seldom ever seen.
“Beneath the decks deep in the hole, to make the engines run. And every hour of every day, they keep the watch in hell. For if the fires ever fail, their ship’s a useless shell,” Pecoraro read.
Dulay was honored with a 21-gun salute, ashore at the memorial and on board the USS Frank Cable.
At the close of the service, the playing of taps left everyone with tears in their eyes.