Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

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A tugboat tows the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Midway towards San Diego Bay past Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
A tugboat tows the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Midway towards San Diego Bay past Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is situated in San Diego County on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation. The cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of San Diego, overlooking the bay and the city. Fort Rosecrans is named after William Starke Rosecrans, a Union general in the American Civil War.

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 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 and 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.

Fort Rosecrans became a National Cemetery on October 5, 1934. 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.

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[edit] Monuments and Memorials

  • The USS Ommaney Bay monument is an etched granite memorial to the men lost in action when the ship was bombed in January 1945.
  • The Patriots of America memorial was dedicated in 1999 by the California State Society of the Founders and Patriots of America to honor all Americans who answered the call to arms.

[edit] 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:

  • The USS St. Lo, and Composite Squadron VC-65 was erected in 1994.

[edit] Notable burials

[edit] Medal of Honor recipients

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

  • Captain Jesse Farley Dyer (Mexican Campaign), U.S. Marine Corps. Vera Cruz, April 21, 1914 (Section P, Grave 1606).
  • Vice Admiral Middleton S. Elliott (Mexican War), U.S. Navy. Vera Cruz, April 21–22, 1914 (Section P, Grave 2828).
  • Seaman Ora Graves (World War I), U.S. Navy. USS Pittsburgh, July 23, 1917 (Section W, Grave 1208).
  • Gunnery Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard (Vietnam), U.S. Marine Corps, Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. Republic of Vietnam, June 16, 1966 (Section O, Grave 3759).
  • Sergeant Anund C. Roark (Vietnam War), U.S. Army. Kontum Province, Vietnam, May 16, 1968 (Section O, Grave 1855).
  • Sergeant Henry Frank Schroeder (Spanish American War), U.S. Army, Company L, 16th U.S. Infantry. Carig, Philippine Islands, September 14, 1900 (Section S, Grave 854).

[edit] Other Burials

  • Major Reuben H. Fleet, World War I aviator, interred in the cemetery. The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diego was named after Major Fleet.

[edit] External link

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