- Golden Gate National Cemetery
Golden Gate National Cemetery is a
U.S. National Cemetery , located in the city of San Bruno, San Mateo County, 12 miles (19 km) south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused withSan Francisco National Cemetery , which dates to the 19th century and is in thePresidio of San Francisco , in view of theGolden Gate . Around 1937, San Francisco residents voted to no longer build cemeteries within the city proper and, as a result, the site for the new national cemetery was selected south of the city limits.Congress authorized construction of the facility in 1937, with the first interments in 1941. The cemetery was officially dedicated on
Memorial Day ,May 30 ,1942 . Then-Attorney GeneralEarl Warren (and laterChief Justice of the United States ) was keynote speaker at the ceremony. Golden Gate is one of a large number of U.S. Army-planned cemeteries started in the 1930s and completed during the 1940s. They were designed specifically to provide abundant burial opportunities in locations around the nation in cities with very large veteran populations.As of 2005, the cemetery held 137,435 interments. Over the years, several attempts to expand Golden Gate National Cemetery were met with resistance from local residents, so it has remained at its original 161.5 acres (654,000 m²) since 1941.
Ironically, a number of service members who are buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery were interned in the stables at the nearby
Tanforan Racetrack during the early part of theJapanese American Internment .Monuments and memorials
The American Veterans donated a Schulmerich
carillon to the cemetery as part of their worldwide living memorial carillon program. The carillon was dedicatedMay 30 ,1958 .Notable burials
Medal of Honor Recipients
(Dates are of the actions for which they were awarded the
Medal of Honor .)
* CorporalEdward A. Bennett (World War II ), U.S. Army, Company B, 358th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division.Heckhuscheid ,Germany ,February 1 ,1945 (Section 2B, Grave 1071-A).* Master Sergeant
Vito R. Bertoldo (World War II), U.S. Army, Company A, 242nd Infantry, 42nd Infantry.Hatten ,France ,January 9 –10, 1945 (Section C, Grave 52-A).* Chief Gunner’s Mate
John Joseph Clausey U.S. Navy. On board the USS "Bennington" (PG-4),July 21 ,1905 (Section C, Grave 121-B).* Corporal
John O. Dahlgren (Boxer Rebellion ),U.S. Marine Corps .Peking ,China ,June 20 –July 16 ,1900 (Section Z, Grave 1950).* Private
John Francis DeSwan (Spanish-American War ), Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry.Santiago, Cuba ,July 1 ,1898 (Section R, Grave 195-A).* Private
Mosheim Feaster (Indian Wars ), Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry.Wounded Knee Creek , S.D.,December 29 ,1890 (Section O, Grave 319).* Sergeant
Paul H. Foster (Vietnam War ), U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. NearCon Thien ,Republic of Vietnam ,October 14 ,1967 (Section V, Grave 4764).* Sergeant
Edward H. Gibson (Philippine-American War ), Company M, 27th Infantry,U.S. Volunteers .San Mateo ,Philippine Islands ,December 19 ,1899 (Section L, Grave 7791).* Private First Class
Harold Gonsalves (World War II),U.S. Marine Corps Reserve .Ryukyu Islands ,April 15 , 1945 (Section B, Grave 61).* Captain
Nelson M. Holderman (World War I ), U.S. Army, 307th Infantry, 77th Division.Argonne , France,October 2 –8, 1918 (Section R, Grave 17).* Machinist's Mate
William R. Huber , U.S. Navy. On board theUSS Bruce ,June 11 ,1928 (Section 2B, Grave 4085).* Boatswain’s Mate First Class
Reinhardt J. Keppler (World War II), U.S. Navy. On board the USS "San Francisco" (CA-38),November 12 –13, 1942 (Section C, Grave 379).* Seaman
Hugh Patrick Mullin (Philippine-American War), U.S. Navy. On board the USS "Texas",November 11 ,1899 (Section A-2, Grave 294).* Private First Class
Stuart S. Stryker (World War II), U.S. Army, Company E, 513th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne Division. NearWesel ,Germany ,March 24 ,1945 (Section B, Grave 719).* Private First Class
Robert H. Young (Korean War ), U.S. Army, Company E., 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. North OfKaesong ,Korea ,October 9 ,1950 (Section O, Grave 8).Other burials
*
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. A number of distinguished officers who served under him are also buried here: AdmiralsRaymond A. Spruance ,Richmond K. Turner , andCharles A. Lockwood , by an arrangement made by all of them while living.*Career naval officer Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr.
* The 44 German and Italian prisoners-of-war interred here were captured in North Africa after the collapse of the German
Afrika Korps under the command of FieldmarshalErwin Rommel in 1943. The POWs were housed atCamp Beale andCamp Cook inCalifornia andCamp Rupert inIdaho , where they were originally buried at the respective post cemeteries. When the posts closed, the POWs were re-interred at Golden Gate.* Fantasy author and
Vietnam War veteranDavid A. Hargrave .*
Leo Ryan , a the first member ofU.S. Congress to have been killed in the line of duty while serving as a member of that body.*
Oliver Sipple , a Marine Vietnam War veteran who thwarted an assassination attempt on PresidentGerald Ford bySara Jane Moore on September 22, 1975 in San Francisco, California.*
Dan White , a paratrooper in the Vietnam War and a formerSan Francisco City Supervisor. He assassinatedSan Francisco City SupervisorHarvey Milk andSan Francisco MayorGeorge Moscone on November 27, 1978.External links
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/goldengate.asp US Department of Veterans Affairs Golden Gate National Cemetery]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.