Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
Visitation Hours: Open 7 days a week from sunrise to sunset.
This cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to disinterment from an existing gravesite or for other reasons. If burial space is available at the time of request, the cemetery will assign such gravesites or columbarium niches to other eligible Veterans or family members. Since there is no way to know in advance when a gravesite may become available, please contact the cemetery at the time of need to inquire whether space is available.
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran. Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial. For more information visit our eligibility web page.
From Interstate 5 South or Interstate-8 West: Exit at Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard.
From Interstate 5 North: Exit and turn left on Hawthorne Street, turn right on N. Harbor Drive, turn left on Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard. Exit at Rosecrans Street (State route 209), turn right on Canon, turn left on Catalina Blvd.
From the nearest airport: Turn right on N. Harbor Drive, turn left on Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard.
Public Transportation: San Diego Transit, Route 28.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
For general information or rescheduling of services, please call 858-658-7360 during office hours.
Military Funeral Honors
Military Funeral Honors are provided by the following services. Your local funeral director can assist you with obtaining honors.
Air Force - March Air Force Base
Army - Ft. Irwin or local National Guard units
Marine Corps - MCRD, San Diego
Navy - 32nd Street Naval Base, San Diego
82nd Airborne Detail (Volunteers)
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding the Columbarium, Memorial Walls or Memorial Monuments at any time. Cemetery furnished temporary flower containers are available and located throughout the cemetery in specially marked containers.
All floral items will be removed as soon as they become faded and/or unsightly, and may also be removed every week to accommodate grounds maintenance, to include removal of artificial flowers. Floral pickup is every Friday.
Artificial flowers may be placed on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding the Columbarium, Memorial Walls or Memorial Monuments November through February.
Plantings will not be permitted on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding the Columbarium Memorial Walls or Memorial Monuments at any time. Potted plants will be permitted on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding Columbarium, Memorial Wall or Memorial Monuments five days before and five after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day. During the winter season a Holiday wreath or plant is allowed. Floral blankets are not authorized due to the year round growing season.
To maintain the dignity of the cemetery, items such as candles, statues, flags, glass of any kind, vigil lights, shepherd’s hooks, wind chimes, pinwheels, balloons, memorabilia, or any item exceeding 24” inches in height are not permitted on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding the Columbarium, Memorial Walls or Memorial Monuments, at any time. Items of any type will not be secured to Headstones, Niches, Memorial Markers or Memorial Monuments.
Rules of Behavior: In order to preserve the dignity and honor of our Veterans final resting place, please observe the following while visiting the cemetery grounds:
- Guns, knives or other weapons are not allowed.
- Pets are not permitted outside of vehicles except service animals.
- Picnicking, biking, jogging, running or other recreational sports of any kind are not permitted.
- Soliciting is not permitted.
- Unauthorized gatherings are not permitted.
- Please do not litter or park on grass areas.
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors. Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
Situated in San Diego County on the Fort Rosecrans Military reservation, the cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of San Diego, overlooking the bay and the city.
Many Fort Rosecrans interments date to the early years of the California Territory, including the remains of the casualties of the battle of San Pasqual. Shortly after the United States declared war on Mexico in May 1846, Brigadier Stephen Watts Kearny was tasked with conquering Mexico’s northern provinces, New Mexico and California. While Kearny demonstrated his considerable gift for administrative command with his acquisition of the New Mexican territory, he faced a more difficult task in California. Expecting a show of force from the Mexican Californios, Kearny set out west from New Mexico. Upon reaching California, Kit Carson intercepted him and his men, who informed him the territory had been taken by American settlers in the Bear Flag Revolt. Kearny sent 200 of his men back to New Mexico with the news and continued forward with one-third of his force. Unfortunately, the success of the revolt had been exaggerated and, before reaching their destination, Kearny and his men encountered a group of Californios intent on keeping more U.S. troops out of their homeland.
In the subsequent Battle of San Pasqual, 19 of Kearny’s men and an untold number of Californios lost their lives. Initially, the dead were buried where they fell, but by 1874 the remains had been removed to the San Diego Military Reservation. Eight years later, the bodies were again reinterred at what is now Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. In 1922, the San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West had a large boulder brought from the battlefield and placed at the gravesite with a plaque affixed that lists the names of the dead.
Another notable monument in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery commemorates the deaths of 62 sailors in a boiler explosion aboard the USS Bennington. The Bennington, which had just returned from maneuvers in the Pacific, was anchored in San Diego Harbor. On July 21, 1905, the crew was ordered to depart in search for the USS Wyoming, which had lost a propeller at sea. At approximately 10:30 a.m., an explosion in the boiler room ripped through the ship, killing and wounding the majority of the crew. Two days later the remains of soldiers and sailors were brought to the post cemetery and interred in an area known as Bennington Plot.
Fort Rosecrans became a National Cemetery on Oct. 5, 1934. The decision to make the post cemetery part of the national system came, in part, due to changes in legislation that greatly increased the number of persons eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Grave space in San Francisco National Cemetery then grew increasingly limited. In addition, southern California was experiencing a phenomenal population growth during this period, and there was a definitive need for more burial sites.
Monuments and Memorials
The granite and bronze USS Wasp CV-7 memorial commemorates the loss of fellow shipmates during Battle of Guadalcanal on Sept. 15, 1942.
The San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West installed the San Pasqual monument in 1922 to honor those soldiers who lost their lives in the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual during the Mexican War. The monument is comprised of a stone boulder with a bronze plaque mounted on it.
The USS Bennington monument is a tall granite obelisk dedicated to the men who lost their lives on that ship in San Diego Harbor on July 21, 1905. The monument was dedicated on Jan. 7, 1908.
The Ommaney Bay CVE-79 monument is an etched granite memorial to the men lost in action when the ship was bombed in January 1945.
The granite Taffy 3 monument was dedicated on Oct. 24, 1996, in memory of the men who died during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) and in subsequent battles of the Pacific.
The granite USS Gambier Bay monument was dedicated on Oct. 25, 1996, in memory of the men who lost their lives during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) and in subsequent battles of the Pacific. Family members and survivors donated the monument.
The USS Hoel, USS Johnston, and USS Samuel B. Roberts monument is a large granite memorial dedicated in 1995 to the men who died on those ships in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines).
The USS St. Lo, CVE-63, and Composite Squadron VC-65 was erected in1994 to the memory of the men who died on those ships in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines).
A monument dedicated to the Mormon Battalion was erected in 1998.
The Patriots of America memorial was dedicated in 1999 by the California State Society of the Founders and Patriots of America to honor all Americans who answered the call to arms.
The 3rd Infantry Division monument was dedicated on Feb. 16, 2002. The granite memorial is dedicated to their fallen comrades.
The Blue Star Memorial Marker was donated by the Point Loma Garden Club of California and dedicated on June 24, 2010. The marker is a tribute to American men and women who have served, are serving, or will serve their country. Its symbolism dates to World War II when families of servicemen and women displayed a square flag decorated with a blue star in their windows to signify that a loved one was in the armed forces.
Medal of Honor Recipients
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the president on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and eligibility criteria for the Medal of Honor have changed over time.
Recipients buried or memorialized here:
Commander Charles Francis Bishop (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Florida for actions during the seizure of Vera Cruz, April 21, 1914. Bishop died in 1954 and is buried in Section O, Site 4562.
Captain Willis Winter Bradley, Jr. (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Pittsburgh for actions at the time of an explosion on the vessel, July 23, 1917. Bradley died in 1954 and is buried in Section O, Site 2925.
Major Mason Carter (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 5th U. S. Infantry, for actions at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana Territory, September 30, 1877. Carter died in 1909 and is buried in Section PS-4, Site 102.
Staff Sergeant Peter S. Connor (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 3d Marines, 1st Marine Division, in recognition of gallantry and self-sacrifice in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam, February 25, 1966. Connor is buried in Section A-E, Site 1005.
Lieutenant Commander William “Willie” S. Cronan. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Bennington for extraordinary heroism when a boiler exploded on the vessel at San Diego, California, July 21, 1905. Cronan died in 1959 and is buried in Section T, Site 534.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert L. David (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his service in the U.S. Navy in recognition of actions while attached to the U.S.S. Pillsbury during the capture of a German submarine off French West Africa, June 4, 1944. David died in 1945 and is buried in Section OS, Site 125-A.
Major General James L. Day (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, 2d Battalion, 22nd Marines, 6th Marine Division, for actions on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, May 14-17, 1945. Day died in 1998 and is buried in Section P, Site 1748.
Brigadier General DyerJesse Farley Dyer (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for distinguished conduct in battle during the engagements at Vera Cruz, April 21-22, 1914. Dyer died in 1955 and is buried in Section P, Site 1606.
Vice Admiral Middleton S. Elliott (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for distinguished conduct in battle during the engagements at Vera Cruz, April 21-22, 1914. Elliot died in 1952 and is buried in Section P, Site 2628.
Captain Michael John Estocin (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Navy, Attack Squadron 192, in recognition of unswerving devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger in Haiphong, North Vietnam, April 20 and April 26, 1967. Estocin is memorialized in Section MA, Site 112.
Commander Donald A. Gary (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy as an engineering officer attached to the U.S.S. Franklin, for actions when the vessel was attacked in the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, March 19, 1945. Gary died in 1977 and is buried in Section A-1, Site 3-B.
Seaman Ora Graves (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Pittsburgh for actions at the time of an explosion on the vessel, July 23, 1917. Graves died in 1961 and is buried in Section W, Site 1208.
Brigadier General Herman Henry Hanneken (Haitian Campaign, 1919-1920). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, for actions near Grande Riviere, Republic of Haiti, October 31-November 1, 1919. Hanneken died in 1986 and is buried in Section C, Site 166-D.
First Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, for leadership and fighting spirit in the Republic of Vietnam, June 16, 1966. Howard died in 1993 and is buried in Section O, Site 3759.
Major Ross L. Iams (Haitian Campaign, 1915). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, 5th Company, for actions during the attack on Fort Riviere, Republic of Haiti, November 17, 1915. Iams died in 1952 and is buried in Section P, Site 2930.
Ensign Herbert Charpiot Jones (World War II). Californian Herbert C. Jones enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1935, and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy before joining the U.S.S. California in 1940. On board the vessel on December 7, 1941, he urged fellow sailors to safety, “Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off.” Ensign Jones was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the country into World War II. In 1943 the U.S. Navy launched a destroyer escort, U.S.S. Herbert C. Jones, in his honor. He is buried in Section G, Site 76.
Master-at-Arms Second Class Michael A. Monsoor (Iraq War). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Navy, SEAL Team 3, in recognition of exceptional bravery and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death in Ramadi, Iraq, September 29, 2006. Monsoor is buried in Section U, Site 412E.
Lieutenant John Edward Murphy (Spanish-American War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions in connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance of the harbor of Santiago, Cuba, June 2, 1898. Murphy died in 1941 and is buried in Section OS, Site 363.
Sergeant James Irsley Poynter (Korea). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in recognition of actions and self-sacrificing conduct in defense of Hill 532 near Sudong, Korea, November 4, 1950. Poynter is buried in Section O, Site 729.
Sergeant Anund C. Roark (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company C, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, in recognition of gallantry and self-sacrifice on a rescue mission in Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, May 16, 1968. Roark is buried in Section O, Site 1855.
Major Henry Frank Schroeder (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company L, 16th U.S. Infantry, for actions at Carig, Philippine Islands, September 14, 1900. Schroeder died in 1959 and is buried in Section S, Site 854.
Lieutenant Commander Robert Semple (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Florida for actions during the landing of U.S. naval forces at Vera Cruz, April 21, 1914. Semple died in 1943 and is buried in Section OS-A, Site 192.
Lieutenant William Zuiderveld (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Florida for actions during the seizure of Vera Cruz, April 21, 1914. Zuiderveld died in 1978 and is buried in Section A-1, Site 9-B.
Other Burials
Thomas S. Crow was the fourth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy and the highest ranking enlisted man. Crow joined the Navy in 1953 and trained as an aviation structural mechanic. He would later work in human relations serving as a race relations specialist and as a manager of a drug and alcohol program. He was selected from a slate of six candidates for the top enlisted man position in 1979. During his tenure he was instrumental in the creation of the Navy’s Senior Enlisted Academy and worked to improve the day-to-day lives of sailors.
Reuben Hollis Fleet was born in 1887 in Washington Territory. He graduated from Culver Military Academy, Indiana, in 1906, and became an officer in the National Guard. He was elected to the Washington State legislature in 1915, becoming its youngest serving member. From 1917-22, Fleet was commissioned in the U.S. Army Signal Corps where he organized the first air-mail flights between Washington, DC, and New York. Maj. Fleet was a contracting officer for the U.S. Air Service at Dayton, and flew test flights there. After military service, he pursued aircraft production and established Consolidated Aircraft Corp. By World War II, his aircraft-design expertise was behind the manufacture of training planes, seaplanes, and B-24 Liberator Bombers. Fleet’s influence is recognized in San Diego’s Space Theater and Science Center and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Fleet died October 29, 1975 (Section O, Site 674).
Walter Marty Schirra studied aeronautical engineering at the Newark College of Engineering and, in 1942, was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon graduation in 1945, Ensign Schirra served on the battle cruiser Alaska and went on to complete pilot training. During the Korean War, as an exchange pilot with the 154th Fighter Bomber Squadron, he flew 90 combat missions in F-84E jets. He received the U.S. Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross, among other honors. Schirra was selected as one of the first NASA astronauts in 1959. He is the only one to have flown in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. After a notable career as a pilot and space pioneer, Capt. Schirra retired from military service in 1969. He died May 3, 2005 (Section MZ, Site 106).
Laurence Stallings was a screenwriter with over two dozen writing credits, i.e. What Price Glory."
General Holland Smith, U.S. Marine Corps, commanded FMF in the Pacific during World War II and led the "island hopping" campaign in central Pacific.
Lieutenant General John Wilson "Iron Mike" O'Daniel, U.S. Army, Commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, the Rock of the Marne, during World War II, the first Allied unit into Berchtesgaden in May 1945 (Section A-E, Site 1172.)
Lt. Gen. Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, USMC, (Ret.), served as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Pacific during the early years of the Vietnam War. Prior Krulak had served in both the Korean War and World War II. During the later, as a lieutenant colonel, he led a battalion in a diversionary raid to cover the invasion of Bougainville. He was wounded during action but refused to be evacuated; for his bravery, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Earlier in 1937, while stationed in Shanghai, he witnessed a Japanese assault against Chinese forces at the mouth of the Yangtze River in landing craft equipped with a square bow that became a retractable ramp for dispatching troops and equipment. Though he sent photos back to the United States, his report was initially ignored. Later, he consulted with New Orleans boat builder Andrew Higgins on what would become the landing craft used during the invasions of Normandy, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1968 and went to work as an executive and columnist for Copley newspapers. In 1984, Krulak penned First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps, which is considered the definitive book on the history and culture of the Marine Corps.
Major General Joseph H. Pendleton graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1884. By 1913, Pendleton had risen to the rank of colonel and was the commanding officer at the Marine Barracks at Puget Sound, where he was on expeditionary duty for much of the time. In mid-1914 after arriving in San Diego, Pendleton began to advocate for the establishment of a major Marine Corps installation in the area due to the location’s favorable weather and harbor. Retiring from military service in 1924, then General Pendleton settled in nearby Coronado where he served as mayor for a time. He died in February 1942. Later that year construction began on a Marine Corps base near Oceanside, California, and in September, Camp Joseph H. Pendleton was official dedicated by President Roosevelt. (Officer Sections, Site 191)
Oscar Jones Singer, native of Arizona, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on December 12, 1944. PFC Singer was a Navajo Code Talker in the Pacific Theater during World War II and completed his tour of duty in December 1945. In 2001, the Navajo Code Talkers were presented with the Congressional Silver Medal. Singer's honor was posthumous. He died in 1954 (Section O, Site 350).
We are developing educational content for this national cemetery, and will post new materials as they become available. Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.








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