<p>HAMILTON, Bermuda (CNN) --The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Nassau headed home Saturday without one of its sailors, who fell overboard in what the ship's captain called a "freak accident."</p>
<p>Returning from a nine-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, Capt. Russell Tjepkema said, "This 24-hour period was the hardest 24-hour period of the entire deployment."</p>