Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery | |
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Details | |
Established | 1882 |
Location | |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 32°41′19″N117°14′45″W / 32.68861°N 117.24583°W |
Type | United States National Cemetery |
No. of interments | >120,000 |
Website | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery |
Find a Grave | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery |
Footnotes | Nationwide Gravesite Locator (USDVA) |
Reference no. | 55 |
Reference no. | 19 [1] |
Designated | March 8, 2016 [2] |
Reference no. | 16000054 |
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Fort Rosecrans is named after William Starke Rosecrans, a Union general in the American Civil War.
The cemetery is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown San Diego, overlooking San Diego Bay and the city from one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The cemetery was registered as California Historical Landmark #55 [3] on December 6, 1932. The cemetery is spread out over 77.5 acres (31.4 ha) located on both sides of Catalina Blvd.
Many Fort Rosecrans interments date to the early years of the California Republic, including the remains of the casualties of the Battle of San Pasqual, in which 19 of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny's men and an untold number of Californios lost their lives. Initially, the dead were buried where they fell, but by 1874 the remains had been removed to the San Diego Military Reservation. Eight years later, the bodies were again reinterred at what is now Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. In 1922, the San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West had a large boulder brought from the battlefield and placed at the gravesite with a plaque affixed that lists the names of the dead. [4]
Another notable monument in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is the USS Bennington Monument which commemorates the deaths of 62 sailors in a boiler explosion aboard USS Bennington (PG-4). Bennington, which had just returned from maneuvers in the Pacific, was anchored in San Diego Harbor. On July 21, 1905, the crew was ordered to depart in search for USS Wyoming (BM-10), which had lost a propeller at sea. At approximately 10:30 a.m., an explosion in the boiler room ripped through the ship, killing or wounding the majority of the crew. Two days later the remains of soldiers and sailors were brought to the post cemetery and interred in an area known as Bennington Plot. [4]
At one time, the cemetery was called the Bennington Nation Cemetery, but in 1934 was named the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Fort Rosecrans became a National Cemetery on October 5, 1934. [5] The decision to make the post cemetery part of the national system came, in part, due to changes in legislation that greatly increased the number of persons eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Grave space in San Francisco National Cemetery then grew increasingly limited. [6] In addition, southern California was experiencing a phenomenal population growth during this period, and there was a definitive need for more burial sites. [7]
All available space for casketed remains at Fort Rosecrans was exhausted in the late 1960s, but cremated remains continued to be accepted. [5] In the first decade of the 21st Century addition of extensive columbaria, in place of old chain-link fencing has allowed the interment of thousands of additional veterans there. [8]
In 1973, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was placed under the control of the Veterans Administration. [5] In May 2014, the cemetery had assigned all remaining spaces available; new burials will occur at Miramar National Cemetery. [9] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. [2]
Today, the Fort Rosecrans Memorial Day celebration is the largest Memorial Day festivity in San Diego. The Fort Rosecrans Memorial Day Committee consists of war veterans' organizations, their auxiliaries, and patriotic groups. [5]
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery has several war memorials, including:
Several monuments have been erected in memory of the sailors lost in the Battle off Samar, October 25, 1944, a part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines), and in subsequent battles of the Pacific:
(Dates are of the actions for which they were awarded the Medal of Honor.)
Burial in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was available for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependents at no cost to the family and includes the gravesite, grave-liner, opening and closing of the grave, a headstone or marker, and perpetual care as part of a national shrine. For veterans, benefits may also include a burial flag (with case for active duty), and military funeral honors. Family members and other loved ones of deceased veterans may request Presidential Memorial Certificates.
Veterans discharged from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable and servicemembers who die while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, as well as spouses and dependent children of veterans and active duty servicemembers, may be eligible for VA burial and memorial benefits including burial in a national cemetery. The veteran does not have to die before the spouse or dependent child for that person to be eligible.
Reservists and National Guard members, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are eligible if they were entitled to retired pay at the time of death, or would have been upon reaching requisite age.
Burial of dependent children is limited to unmarried children under 21 years of age, or under 23 years of age if a full-time student at an approved educational institution. Unmarried adult children who become physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support before age 21, or age 23 if a full-time student, also are eligible for burial.
A Federal law passed in 2010 (Public Law 111-275) extends burial benefits to certain parents of servicemembers who die as a result of hostile activity or from combat training-related injuries who are buried in a national cemetery in a gravesite with available space. The biological or adopted parents of a servicemember who dies in combat or while performing training in preparation for a combat mission, leaving no surviving spouse or dependent child, may be buried with the deceased servicemember if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that there is available space. The law applies to servicemembers who died on or after Oct. 7, 2001 and to parents who died on or after Oct. 13, 2010.
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces, and those who have been killed in doing so. It is administered by the National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Millions of visitors visit the cemetery each year, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hawaii.
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, 12 miles (20 km) south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which dates to the 19th century and is in the Presidio of San Francisco, in view of the Golden Gate. Around 1937, San Francisco residents voted to bar the opening of new cemeteries within the city proper and, as a result, the site for the new national cemetery was selected south of the city limits in adjacent San Mateo County.
The USS Bennington Monument is a 60-foot (18 m) granite obelisk in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California, United States. It serves as a memorial to the crew of the USS Bennington (PG-4), a gunboat of the United States Navy, whose boiler exploded on the morning of 21 July 1905, in San Diego Bay. The explosion showered the vessel with live steam and scalding water, killing 66 men and burning an additional 46. It was the worst peacetime disaster for the U.S. Navy up to that time.
Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers 921 acres (373 ha). It has been the most active cemetery in the system since 2000, based on the number of interments.
The United States Navy Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring those who have served or are currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine.
The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California.
Barrancas National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in the city of Pensacola, Florida. It encompasses 94.9 acres (38.4 ha), and as of 2021 had over 50,000 interments.
Black Hills National Cemetery, originally named Fort Meade National Cemetery, is a United States National Cemetery near Sturgis, South Dakota. Named after the nearby Black Hills, over 29,000 interments of military veterans and their family members have taken place since its founding in 1948. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which also operates the nearby Fort Meade National Cemetery. It was the first national cemetery in South Dakota and is currently the only one open to new burials.
Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses 84.3 acres (34.1 ha), and as of 2021, had 68,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of two national cemeteries in New Mexico. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 154.7 acres (62.6 ha), and as of 2014, had over 144,000 interments. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Cypress Hills National Cemetery is a 18.2-acre (7.4 ha) cemetery located in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the only United States National Cemetery in New York City and has more than 21,100 interments of veterans and civilians.
Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue – these include Pinelawn Memorial Park, St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries, Beth Moses, New Montefiore and Mt. Ararat Cemeteries. Its mailing address is Farmingdale. It borders East Farmingdale along its western edge and is located within the CDPS of Wyandanch, in the Town of Babylon, and Melville in the Town of Huntington. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 364.7 acres (147.6 ha), and as of 2021, had more than 357,000 interments.
San Francisco National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with Golden Gate National Cemetery, a few miles south of the city.
Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory adjacent to the historic fort and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is the only National Cemetery in Minnesota. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it covers 436.3 acres (176.6 ha), and as of June, 2024 had over 260,000 interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Ross Lindsey Iams was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for actions in Haiti on November 17, 1915. Iams served for over 30 years in the Marine Corps, reaching the rank of major. Iams is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.
William "Willie" S. Cronan was a boatswain's mate serving in the United States Navy during the first half of the twentieth century who was awarded the Medal of Honor for peacetime bravery in 1906.
Clark Veterans Cemetery is located in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Philippines. The cemetery is the burial place for thousands of mainly American veterans and Filipino Scouts who served in the United States Army, and who died in conflicts other than World War II or on military bases in the Philippines.
Miramar National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located in the northwest corner of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on the grounds of former Camp Kearny (1917) and Camp Elliott (1942). The cemetery is considered an auxiliary of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bertram Allison Bone was a decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general. He is most noted for his service as commanding officer, 1st Defense Battalion during the early phase of the World War II. He later served with V Amphibious Corps during Battle of Leyte and led 10th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Okinawa.