Miramar National Cemetery
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Miramar National Cemetery entrance wall
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| Details | |
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| Established | 2010 |
| Location | 5795 Nobel Dr, San Diego, California 92122 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Miramar National Cemetery |
| Type | United States National Cemetery |
| Size | 313 acres |
| Number of graves | 6,845 as of May 2015. Can hold up to 235,000. |
| Website | Miramar National Cemetery |
| Find a Grave | Miramar National Cemetery Nationwide Gravesite Locator (USDVA) |
Miramar National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located in the north west corner of the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on the grounds of old Camp Kearney (1917) and Camp Elliott (1942).
Miramar National Cemetery is considered an auxiliary of the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The cemetery is located about 15 miles (24 km) north of Downtown San Diego on Nobel Drive between Miramar Road and Interstate 805.
Contents
History
On 30 January 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs dedicated a new National Cemetery at the northwest corner of MCAS Miramar.[1] The cemetery is an extension of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and when complete will accommodate the remains of approximately 235,000 veterans and spouses.[2] Nearby Fort Rosecrans Cemetery closed to most casket burials in 1966, and prior to Miramar's opening, the only option for casket burials of San Diego region veterans was Riverside National Cemetery.[3][4]
The cemetery design is sensitive to environmental considerations, preserving habitat for endangered California gnatcatchers and fairy shrimp.[4]
The first interment occurred in November 2010;[3] the first casket burial occurred in April 2011.[5][6]
The cemetery contains 313 acres dedicated for full casket burials and cremated remains. It has 16 designated areas (not all currently being used) for full casket burials and two Columbarium areas for urn interments. It also has two, "Committal Service Shelters" or open sided covered shelters. North of the central "Avenue of Flags" is a "Memorial Walk" with dedications and benches for reflections. A planned Ossuary is located at the end of the "Memorial Walk" and designated as the "Memorial Plaza." The Administration Office has an interior service room and a unique funeral possession lane behind it. Near the entrance is a "P.O.W. Plaza" where the bronze memorial to prisoners of war called "Liberation" is located.[7]
Notable burials
Medal of Honor recipients
- Charles Schroeter, Medal of Honor recipient[8]
Other burials
- Jerry Coleman, a baseball broadcaster,[9] a former manager of the San Diego Padres, a World Series winning Major League Baseball second baseman for the New York Yankees and a Marine Corps pilot during World War II and the Korean War.[10]
Eligibility
Burial in Miramar National Cemetery is available for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependents at no cost to the family and includes the gravesite, grave-liner, opening and closing of the grave, a headstone or marker, and perpetual care as part of a national shrine. For veterans, benefits may also include a burial flag (with case for active duty), and military funeral honors. Family members and other loved ones of deceased veterans may request Presidential Memorial Certificates.
Veterans discharged from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable and servicemembers who die while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, as well as spouses and dependent children of veterans and active duty servicemembers, may be eligible for VA burial and memorial benefits including burial in a national cemetery. The veteran does not have to die before a spouse or dependent child can be eligible.
Reservists and National Guard members, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are eligible if they were entitled to retired pay at the time of death, or would have been upon reaching requisite age.
Burial of dependent children is limited to unmarried children under 21 years of age, or under 23 years of age if a full-time student at an approved educational institution. Unmarried adult children who become physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support before age 21, or age 23 if a full-time student, also are eligible for burial.
A Federal law passed in 2010 (Public Law 111-275) extends burial benefits to certain parents of servicemembers who die as a result of hostile activity or from combat training-related injuries who are buried in a national cemetery in a gravesite with available space. The biological or adopted parents of a servicemember who dies in combat or while performing training in preparation for a combat mission, leaving no surviving spouse or dependent child, may be buried with the deceased servicemember if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that there is available space. The law applies to servicemembers who died on or after Oct. 7, 2001 and to parents who died on or after Oct. 13, 2010.[11]
Monuments and memorials
Miramar National Cemetery has several memorials and monuments.
- The Liberation - By sculptor Richard Becker. It was dedicated on Sept. 16, 2011. It "honors the sacrifice of veterans captured during America's foreign wars." The San Diego American Ex-Prisoners of War-Chapter 1 provided "the 15-foot-tall figurative composition of a bronze soldier and POW flag atop a concrete base."[6]
Memorial Walk
- Jewish War Veterans
- US Navy Seabees
- US Navy Nurse Corps
- Blue Star Memorial by the California Garden Club, Palomar District
- Korean War Memorial - Chosin Reservoir by the San Diego Chapter of the Chosin Few
- US Army Special Forces Memorial
Avenue of Flags
The Avenue of Flags contains fifty (50) steel flag poles with lighting to display all the American flags along the avenue twenty four (24) hours a day. The Avenue extends from near the cemetery entrance eastward toward a giant American flag and flagpole at the east end of the roadway at the Flag Assembly Area.[12]
It was dedicated on Saturday 28 January 2012 with North San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn, Officers of the United States Armed Forces, representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs and numerous San Diego and Orange County veterans groups. It was hosted by the Fort Rosecrans and Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with assistance from a US Marine Corps color guard and band from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.[12]
The Support Foundation takes care of flag replacement and repair. It was instrumental in the equipment, purchase and volunteer installation of the flagpoles with proper lighting. Volunteers provide about 1,000 hours of labor by digging trenches, assembling and landscaping. Note worthy were those young volunteers from the Boy Scouts of America and the Young Marines. They were joined by volunteers from the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and many civilians.[12]
Gallery
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Liberation statue at Miramar National Cemetery with POW flag - Miramar National Cemetery
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Liberation plaque at Miramar National Cemetery - base of memorial
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Liberation statue at Miramar National Cemetery without POW flag - Miramar National Cemetery
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Miramar National Cemetery Columbarium Plaza North wall showing sections H & I
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Miramar National Cemetery Columbarium urn crypt with American Flag
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Miramar National Cemetery - Avenue of Flags
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Jewish War Veterans plaque on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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United States Navy Seabees Memorial on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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United States Navy Nurse Corps plaque on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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United States Navy Nurse Corps memorial image on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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Blue Star Memorial - California Garden Club Palomar District - on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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Blue Star Memorial (south side) - California Garden Club Palomar District - on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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Korean War Memorial - Chosin Reservoir by the San Diego Chapter of the Chosin Few - on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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US Army Special Forces Memorial - on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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US Army Special Forces Memorial backside showing green Beret - on the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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Miramar National Cemetery Environmental sign - near the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery
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Miramar National Cemetery headstones in area 8
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Miramar National Cemetery headstones in area 7
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Miramar National Cemetery - Flag Assembly area
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Miramar National Cemetery - Avenue of Flags near the Flag Assembly area
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Miramar National Cemetery - Committal Service Shelter
First interments 22 Nov 2010
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A joint-force color guard stands before the grave sites at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. These first five burials marked the official opening of the new facility which will host the first casket burials of veterans in San Diego since 1966.
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Ceremony attendees gather before the start of a burial while the iconic Prisoner of War/Mission in Action flag waves over the grounds at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. Dignitaries buried the first four veterans and one spouse in the new national cemetery which covers more than 300 acres.
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A U.S. Army honor guard stands at parade rest, waiting to execute a rifle salute at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. Dignitaries performed the first burials at the facility, marking its official opening after almost 10 years of lobbying efforts by local veterans.
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A joint-force color guard waits before the ceremony which marked the official opening of Miramar National Cemetery at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. San Diego veterans groups lobbied for almost a decade to open a new national cemetery, which will bury the first veterans' caskets in San Diego since 1966.
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An Air Force honor guard prepares to present the American flag to the families of the veterans buried at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. The four veterans and one spouse were the first to be buried at the new facility which covers 300 acres and will have enough space to host burials for the next 60 years.
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An Air Force honor guard folds the American flag after presenting it to the families of the first veterans buried at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. The new facility covers 300 acres and is large enough to host burials for the next 60 years.
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A lone bugler finishes a rendition of "Taps" at Miramar National Cemetery aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Nov. 22. Dignitaries buried four veterans and one spouse, marking the official opening of the new facility.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Miramar National Cemetery
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Miramar National Cemetery - National Cemetery Administration.
- ↑ Cemetery Map (link) Miramar National Cemetery.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. - ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. - ↑ High Iron Illustrations, http://www.highironillustrations.com/rogues/jerry_coleman.html
- ↑ http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/benefits_chap07.asp
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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