Jackie Danicki

I can’t believe I am so moved by an item from People freaking magazine, but the story on Heath Ledger’s family and friends taking to the beach in Australia to memorialize him is quite touching.

An unidentified man led [Michelle] Williams by the hand, followed by several guests, who walked down the stairs behind the Indiana Tea House on Cottesloe Beach, the site of the wake and one of Ledger’s favorite spots.

At least 50 people attending the wake ran onto the beach and many began to take off their clothes. While some women took the plunge in their black dresses, other men and women stripped down to just their underwear and jumped into the ocean.

Williams, still wearing her cream-colored sundress and black sunglasses, was briefly dragged into the water as everyone cheered. She was then quickly surrounded by a group of mourners, creating a protective circle around the actress. Those in the water laughed and cheered as Michelle watched from the shore. Ledger’s sister Kate also took a dive into the water and was surrounded by pals splashing around her while her father Kim Ledger watched from the restaurant’s balcony and shouted, “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!” giving two thumbs up in the air.

As the sun began to set, the swimmers came on shore and stood in a line on both sides of Williams and linked arms. In the last five minutes, as the sun moved toward the horizon, the mourners stood in silence, watching and embracing.

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