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Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Coordinates: 32°41′12″N 117°14′41″W / 32.68667°N 117.24472°W / 32.68667; -117.24472
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Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, with the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) in the background.
Map
Details
Established1882
Location
Point Loma, San Diego, California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates32°41′12″N 117°14′41″W / 32.68667°N 117.24472°W / 32.68667; -117.24472[1]
TypeUnited States National Cemetery
No. of graves101,079
WebsiteFort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Find a GraveFort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Nationwide Gravesite Locator (USDVA)
Reference no.55
Reference no.19[2]
A Seahawk flies past the cemetery.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of 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. The cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of Downtown San Diego, overlooking San Diego Bay and the city from one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. Fort Rosecrans is named after William Starke Rosecrans, a Union general in the American Civil War. The cemetery was registered as California Historical Landmark #55[3] on December 6, 1932. The cemetery is spread out over 77.5 acres located on both sides of Catalina Blvd.

History

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. Shortly after the United States declared war on Mexico in May 1846, Brigadier Stephen W. Kearny was tasked with conquering Mexico's northern provinces, New Mexico and California. While Kearny demonstrated his considerable gift for administrative command with his acquisition of the New Mexican territory, he faced a more difficult task in California. Expecting a show of force from the Mexican Californios, Kearny set out west from New Mexico. Upon reaching California, Kit Carson intercepted him and his men, who informed him the territory had been taken by American settlers in the Bear Flag Revolt. Kearny sent 200 of his men back to New Mexico with the news and continued forward with one-third of his force. Unfortunately, the success of the revolt had been exaggerated and, before reaching their destination, Kearny and his men encountered a group of Californios intent on keeping more U.S. troops out of their homeland.

In the subsequent Battle of San Pasqual, 19 of 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.

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). The 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.

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.[4] 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. In addition, southern California was experiencing a phenomenal population growth during this period, and there was a definitive need for more burial sites.

The recent addition of concrete walls for cremated remains at Fort Rosecrans in place of old chain-link fencing has allowed thousands of World War II veterans to be interred there who otherwise would not have been able to since the cemetery was closed for new burials in the late 1960s. Currently, the cemetery has no space for new casketed remains, but does accept cremated remains.[4] Once Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery has reached maximum occupancy the cemetery will be turned over to the National Park System and the grounds will be taken care of by park employees.

In 1973, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was placed under the control of the Veterans Administration.[4]

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.[4]

Monuments and memorials

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery has several war memorials, including:

Battle off Samar

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:

Notable burials

Medal of Honor recipients

(Dates are of the actions for which they were awarded the Medal of Honor.)

Other burials

Eligibility

Burial in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is 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 a spouse or dependent child can 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. [6]

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
  2. ^ "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego.
  3. ^ "Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  4. ^ a b c d http://www.fortrosecransmemorialday.org/Fort_Rosecrans/Home.html
  5. ^ U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775–2006 about James Hamilton Couper (Ancestry.com
  6. ^ http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/benefits_chap07.asp
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