San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery

San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Gustine, in Merced County, California. It encompasses convert|322|acre|km2, and as of the end of 2005, had 25,054 interments.

History

On 1989, the Romero Ranch Company donated land to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the creation of a National Cemetery. The first phase developed convert|105|acre|km2 of the land, and was completed in May 1992, giving enough space for the interment of over 20,000 remains.

There is a small military museum on site, which has exhibits of uniforms, medals, and other memorabilia.

Notable monuments

*The California Korean War Veterans Memorial, erected in 1998. It consists of 16 five foot tall granite monoliths arranged in a circle. Engraved on each monolith is the name of the 2,495 veterans from California who died during the Korean War.
*The 11th Airborne Memorial, a granite and bronze monument dedicated in 2002 in honor of all Airborne forces.

Notable interments

*Seaman William Troy, Medal of Honor recipient for action aboard the USS "Colorado" while assaulting Korean forts in 1871.

See also

*United States Department of Veterans Affairs
*United States National Cemetery

External links

* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/sanjoaquinvalley.asp San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery]