Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation

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Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is in Burbank, California

The Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is in Burbank, California. The shrine is a 75-foot tall structure of marble, mosaic and sculpted figures, and is the burial site for 13 pioneers of aviation. It was built in 1924 as the entrance to Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery. It was dedicated in 1953 by aviation enthusiasts who wanted a final resting place for pilots, mechanics and other pioneers of flight.

Dedicated to the honored dead of American aviation on the 50th anniversary of powered flight, December 17, 1953, by Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker USAF (retired). Beneath the memorial tablets in this sacred portal rest the cremated remains of famous flyers who contributed so much to the history and development of aviation. The bronze plaques upon the marble walls memorialize beloved Americans who devoted their lives to the advancement of the air age. Administered under The auspices of the Brookins-Lahm-Wright Aeronautical Foundation, this shrine stands as a lasting tribute. Trustees, Valhalla Memorial Park.

On May 27, 1996, it was rededicated by Dr. Tom Crouch, Chairman of the Aeronautics Department at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

[edit] Burials

Bertrand Blanchard Acosta (1895-1954), co-pilot with Admiral Richard Byrd in 1927
Walter Richard Brookins (1889-1953), flew for the Wright brothers
Mark M. Campbell (1897-1963), stunt pilot and aircraft designer
John F. B. Carruthers (August 31, 1889 – January 13, 1960) Chaplain of the Portal of the Folded Wings, and air historian. "At the grave, when my warfare is ended. Though no flowers emblazon the sod. May a prayer mark the good I intended. Leaving all decoration to God."
Warren Samuel Eaton (1891-1966), Colonel and early pilot who built airplanes for Lincoln Beachy
Winfield Bertrum Kinner (1882-1957), aka Bert Kinner, built 'Kinner' airplanes. Amelia Earhart flew a Kinner.
Augustus Roy Knabenshue (1876-1960), balloon and dirigible pilot who flew in the Dominguez Air Meet in 1910
John Bevins Moisant (1868-1910), won the Statue of Liberty Race in 1910; first to carry a passenger across the English Channel.
Matilde Moisant (1878-1964), the second licensed female pilot in the United States in 1911
Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen (1878-1958), one of Los Angeles's first women pilots
James Floyd Smith (1884-1956), test pilot and instructor for Glenn Martin and manufacturer of parachutes. He built and flew his own plane in 1912 and invented the free-type manually operated parachute for the Army in 1918.
Hilder Florentina Smith (1890-1977), aerial acrobat and parachute jumper. She was married to James Floyd Smith.
Carl B. Squier (1893-1967), WWI aviator, barnstormer, test pilot, and salesman. As Vice President of Lockheed Aircraft he sold Charles and Anne Lindbergh their Sirius airplane in 1931.
Charles E. Taylor (1868-1956), machinist for the Wright brothers who helped design and build the first engine for the Wright Flyer flown at Kitty Hawk