In most cases of fallen service members, there is a solemn funeralceremony when their remains are returned home, and a respectful obituary in the local newspaper.
The former vice-president began the funeralceremony by presenting Mr Chavez's coffin with the sword of Simon Bolivar - the 19th-Century independence leader he claimed as his inspiration.
Thatcher's ceremony was one step short of a state funeral, which is usually reserved for the monarch but was provided for Winston Churchill, Britain's prime minister during World War II.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the vessel had stopped near Old Harry Rocks to allow a funeral party to scatter ashes and Mr Wilkinson had left the wheelhouse to check on the progress of the ceremony.