Los Angeles National Cemetery

Los Angeles National Cemetery

Cemetery entrance.
Details
Established	1889
Location	Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
Country	USA
Coordinates	34°03′40″N 118°27′12″W / 34.061°N 118.4534°WCoordinates: 34°03′40″N 118°27′12″W / 34.061°N 118.4534°W
Type	Public
Owned by	US Department of Veterans Affairs
Size	114 acres developed, 13 acres under development
Website	Official website
Find a Grave	Los Angeles National Cemetery

Bob Hope Veterans Chapel, with a plaque honoring Hope shown on the wall by the chapel's entrance

The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California.

Geography

The entrance to the cemetery is located at 950 South Sepulveda Boulevard (90049) at Constitution Avenue, near the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard. It is adjacent to Westwood, Los Angeles and UCLA along the east across Veteran Avenue, and the main Sawtelle Veterans Home campus across the San Diego Freeway (405) along the west. The cemetery was dedicated on May 22, 1889.^[1] It is directly connected to the central Veterans Home facilities by Constitution Avenue's underpass below freeway.

Cemetery

Interred on its 114 acres (46 ha) are war veterans, from the:

• Mexican–American War
• Civil War
• Spanish–American War
• World War I
• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Iraq War
• War in Afghanistan. ^[1]

An annual ceremony commemorating the birthday of Abraham Lincoln is held at the cemetery on or near February 12. The cemetery's annual Memorial Day program draws several thousand attendees each year.

The chapel at the cemetery was renamed the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel on 29 May 2002, Bob Hope's 99th birthday, in "celebration of his lifelong service to our American Veterans".

Notable burials

Medal of Honor recipients

Fourteen Medal of Honor recipients are buried at the cemetery:^[1]

• Landsman William F. Lukes (Korean Campaign of 1871) U. S. Navy, Company D. Korean Forts, June 9–10, 1871 (Section 7, Grave F-19).
• Private Charles W. Rundle, (Civil War) U.S. Army, Company A, 116th Illinois Infantry. Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863 (Section 34, Grave 1-11).
• Sergeant George H. Eldridge, (Indian Campaigns) U.S. Army, Company C, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Wichita River, Texas, July 12, 1870 (Section 37, Grave B-1).
• Sergeant (then Corporal) Luther Kaltenbach, (Civil War) U.S. Army, Company F, 12 Iowa Infantry. Nashville, Tennessee, December 16, 1864 (Section 43, Grave A-15).
• Sergeant First Class (then Sergeant) Chris Carr (medal awarded under name of Christos H. Karaberis), (World War II), U.S. Army, Company L, 337th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division. Guignola, Italy, October 1–2, 1944 (Section 275, Grave G-15).
• Private Robert H. Von Schlick (China Relief Expedition, Boxer Rebellion) U.S. Army, Infantry, Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry. Tientsin, China, July 13, 1900 (Section 81, Grave G-20).
• Corporal Edwin Phoenix, (Indian Campaigns) U.S. Army, Company E, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Red River Texas, September 26–28, 1875 (Section 67, Grave H-22).
• Wagoner Griffin Seward, (Indian Campaigns) U.S. Army, Company G, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona Territory, October 20, 1869 (Section 15, Grave D-10).
• Farrier Samuel Porter, (Indian Campaigns) U.S. Army, Company L, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Wichita River, Texas, July 12, 1870 (Section 40, Grave E-6).
• Sergeant (then Private) Edward Murphy, (Indian Campaigns) U.S. Army, Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry. Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona Territory, October 20, 1869 (Section 44, Grave 1-22).
• Sergeant Harry Harvey (also known as Harry Huckman^[1]), (Spanish American War) U. S. Marine Corps, April 5, 1929 (Section 60, Grave E-4).
• Color Sergeant George McKee, (Civil War), U.S. Army, Company D, 89th New York Infantry. Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865 (Section 1, Grave G-2).
• Coxswain Timothy Sullivan, (Civil War) U.S. Navy, USS Louisville. Battles in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, unknown date of action (Section 18, Grave H-2).
• Corporal (then Private) James Sweeney, (Civil War) U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Vermont Cavalry. Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864 (Section 78, Grave P-3).

Other veterans

A bronze soldier standing at parade rest is perched atop a boulder to honor Civil War soldiers, erected in 1942.

• Over 100 Buffalo Soldiers are interred at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. These African American soldiers were members of the 9th, 10th, 24th, and 25th Cavalry during the American Civil War.^[1]
• Paul Brinegar (1917–1995). Actor, World War II US Navy Chief Radioman
• Richard Carlson (1912–1977). Actor, married to Mona, Section 17A Row C Space 3
• Royal Dano (1922–1994). Actor, US Army Sergeant
• Jack Dougherty (1895–1938). Actor, married to Barbara La Marr, Section 52 Row L Site 25
• Nicholas Porter Earp (1813–1907). Father of Wyatt Earp^[1]
• Russell Hicks (1895–1957). Actor, US Army First Lieutenant
• Dean Paul Martin (1951–1987). US Air Force, Captain, F-4 Phantom Fighter pilot. Son of Dean Martin, killed when his jet plane crashed during a storm, Section 409 Row P Site 28
• Henry Rowland (1913–1984). Actor, US Army Corporal
• John Russell (1921-1991). Actor, US Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant, World War Two, veteran of Guadalcanal Campaign.
• James R. Webb (1909–1994). Screenwriter, Section 254, Site A-25
• Grant Williams (1931–1985). Actor who played The Incredible Shrinking Man, US Air Force, Section 218 S space 83
• There are two British Commonwealth war graves from World War II in the cemetery, an airman of the Royal Australian Air Force and an officer of the Royal Canadian Artillery.^[2]

View towards southwest and the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel

Future burials

Los Angeles National Cemetery has been closed to new interments since about 2002, with the exception of spouses of those already buried.^[3] In order to accommodate future community need, United States Department of Veterans Affairs has acquired another 13 acres (5.3 ha) to permit the cemetery to expand. Future interments will be in urns of cremated ashes placed in columbarium walls built on the new land. By eliminating ground burials, the new acreage will permit about as many new interments as are in the existing 114 acres.^[3]

Local Issues

After the September 11 attacks a pedestrian gate on the Eastern side of the cemetery was closed "for security reasons." This ongoing closure has significantly affected the ability of eastbound pedestrians and cyclists to avoid a long block of very busy and "dangerous for cyclists" Wilshire Boulevard to commute to/access the UCLA campus and downtown Westwood Village.

See also

References

1. "Cemeteries – Los Angeles National Cemetery". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
2. CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
3. Aaron Spencer (January 24, 2012). "Walker Macy designs Los Angeles National Cemetery expansion". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 2012-01-26.

External links

• Cemeteries – Los Angeles National Cemetery at the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Los Angeles National Cemetery List of Burials at Interment.net
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Los Angeles National Cemetery
• Los Angeles National Cemetery: Famous interments at Find a Grave
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-2709, "Los Angeles National Cemetery, 950 South Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA"