Santa Fe National Cemetery

Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses 78.6 acres (31.8 ha), and as of 2014, had 59,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of two national cemeteries in New Mexico (the other being Fort Bayard National Cemetery).

History

Though New Mexico only played a small part in the American Civil War, the cemetery was created after the war to inter the Union soldiers who died fighting there, primarily at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe donated the land to the federal government in 1870. In 1876 its status was changed to a post cemetery, but in 1885 it became a national cemetery once again.

Notable monuments

• Memorial made of granite and bronze dedicated to World War II Glider Pilots, erected in 1994.
• Memorial to "Women Who Served in the Navy" erected in 1995.
• The China-Burma-India Veterans Memorial, dedicated to World War II veterans, erected in 2002.

Notable interments

• Medal of Honor recipients
  • First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., for action at the Battle of Tarawa during World War II.
  • Watertender Edward A. Clary, for peace time service on board USS Hopkins
  • Private Edwin L. Elwood, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
  • Specialist Four Daniel D. Fernandez, for action during the Vietnam War.
  • Corporal Jacob Guenther, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
  • Second Lieutenant Raymond G. Murphy USMC, for action in Korea on February 3, 1953.
  • Yuma Indian and Army Scout Sergeant Y. B. Rowdy, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
  • Captain Robert S. Scott, for action in World War II.
  • Private First Class Jose F. Valdez, for action during World War II.
• Others
  • Captain George Nicholas Bascom, Union officer killed in the Battle of Val Verde in 1862.
  • Governor Charles Bent, first American governor of New Mexico Territory.
  • Lieutenant Colonel José Francisco Chaves, Union Army officer during the American Civil War, U.S. Representative from the New Mexico Territory, assassinated.
  • John O. Crosby, musician, conductor and arts administrator
  • Valentin de Vargas, actor, U.S. Army veteran.
  • Major General Patrick J. Hurley, World War I and World War II veteran, U.S. Ambassador to China from (1944–45), and Secretary of War for President Herbert Hoover.
  • Oliver La Farge, 1930 Pulitzer Prize winning author of the novel Laughing Boy.
  • John Bristol Speer, attorney, judge, politician, and writer, interred on July 8, 2008.
  • Master Sergeant Roy Tackett WWII Marine credited with the introduction of Sci-Fi to Japan and co-founder of Bubonicon
  • Frank Chee Willeto, Navajo code talker, Congressional Silver Medal recipient and Vice President of the Navajo Nation (1998-1999).^[1]

References

External links

• National Cemetery Administration
• Santa Fe National Cemetery
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. NM-4, "Santa Fe National Cemetery"
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Fe National Cemetery