National Cemetery Administration

LaGuardia International Airport to Long Island National Cemetery. Total distance is approximately 27 miles.

Take the Grand Central Parkway eastbound to Exit 10E - Long Island Expressway 495. Travel the Long Island Expressway to Exit 49 South. After exiting, stay on the South Service Road to the 3rd set of traffic lights. This will be Pinelawn Road. Turn right onto Pinelawn Road, but be aware that Pinelawn Road changes its name to Wellwood Avenue on your way to the cemetery. Long Island National Cemetery is located on the left side of the roadway at 2040 Wellwood Avenue.

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.

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:

Chief Water Tender Heinrich Behnke. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions on board the U.S.S. Iowa after the blowing out of a manhole cover on the vessel, January 25,1905. Behnke died in 1952 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 20A.

Corporal Anthony Casamento (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, for actions at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, November 1, 1942. Casamento died in 1987 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 79A.

Chief Gunner’s Mate John Everetts. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Cushing, for the attempted rescue of a shipmate from drowning, February 11, 1898. Everetts died in 1956 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 36A.

Gunner's Mate Third Class Robert Galbraith (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions at El Pardo, Cebu, Philippine Islands, September 12-13, 1899. Galbraith died in 1949 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 17.

Boatswain's Mate William Henry Gowan. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions at Coquimbo, Chile, January 20, 1909. Gowan died in 1957 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 7.

First Sergeant Sydney G. Gumpertz (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company E, 132nd Infantry, 33rd Division, for actions in the Bois-de-Forges, France, September 29, 1918. Gumpertz died in 1971 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 65.

Chief Water Tender August Holtz. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions during a fire on board the U.S.S. North Dakota, September 8, 1910. Holtz died in 1938 and is buried in Section F, Site 916.

First Lieutenant Stephen Edward Karopczyc (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company A, 35th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, in recognition of perseverance and selfless devotion to his men during a battle in Kontrm Province, Republic of Vietnam, March 12, 1967. Karopczyc was killed in action and is buried in Section DSS, Site 5A.

Specialist Fifth Class John James Kedenburg (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, 1st Special Forces, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), in recognition of inspiring leadership and self-sacrifice as an advisor to a reconnaissance team of South Vietnamese troops in the Republic of Vietnam, June 13, 1968. Kedenburg is buried in Section 2H, Site 3684.

Private First Class Carlos James Lozada (Vietnam). Carlos James Lozada, native of Puerto Rico, enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 15, 1966, and served with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. On November 20, 1967, in Dak TO, Lozada alerted comrades of an oncoming attack by the North Vietnamese and provided defensive fire. When the company received orders to withdraw, Lozada remained in position and he was killed in action. Lozada received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, in November 1969. Lozada is buried in Section T, Site 2295.

Landsman Thomas Mitchell. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for the rescue of a drowning shipmate while on board the U.S.S. Richmond, in Shanghai, China, November 17, 1879. Mitchell died in 1942 and is buried in Section M, Site 27661.

Chief Boatswain's Mate Lauritz Nelson (Spanish-American War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for his actions on board the U.S.S. Nashville in Cuba, May 11, 1898. Nelson died in 1941 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 2.

Sergeant Alfred B. Nietzel (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company H, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, in recognition of heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life near Heistern, Germany, November 18, 1944. Nietzel is buried in Section J, Site 14185.

First Lieutenant Bernard James Ray (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company F, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, in recognition of implacable determination and self-sacrifice so that his company could advance in the Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany, November 17, 1944. Ray is buried in Section DSS, Site 6.

Staff Sergeant Joseph Edward Schaefer (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, for actions near Stolberg, Germany, September 24, 1944. Schaefer died in 1987 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 80.

Colonel Charles William Shea (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company F, 350th Infantry, 88th Infantry Division, for actions near Mount Damiano, Italy, May 12, 1944. Shea died in 1994 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 71A.

Private First Class William Thompson (Korea). William Thompson was born in August 1927 in New York City. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945 and completed one tour of duty. Thompson reenlisted in January 1948 and served with the 24th Infantry in 1949-1950. On August 6, 1950, near Haman in South Korea, Thompson provided cover for comrades as they withdrew from a surprise enemy attack. His courage was recognized posthumously with the Medal of Honor, which his mother received in June 1951. Thompson is one of two black soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the Korean Conflict. He is interred in Section DSS, Site 19.

Private First Class Michael Valente (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company D, 107th Infantry, 27th Division, for actions east of Ronssoy, France, September 29, 1918. Valente died in 1976 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 60A.

Lieutenant James Aloysius Walsh (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 21-22, 1914. Walsh died in 1960 and is buried in Section DSS, Site 47A.

First Lieutenant John Earl Warren, Jr. (Vietnam). John Earl Warren, Jr., was born November 16, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York. He joined the U.S. Army in 1967 and First Lieutenant Warren’s first tour started September 7, 1968. He was a platoon leader for Company C, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. On January 14, 1969, the platoon was ambushed as it moved forward to reinforce another unit. When a grenade landed in their group, Warren fell on it to shield other soldiers. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, which was presented to his family in April 1970. He is buried in Section O, Site 33144.

Other Burials
James "Tim" Brymn was born in North Carolina by about 1880. He attended Shaw University, trained at the National Conservatory of Music in New York, and became a noted composer and bandleader. When the United States entered World War I, Brymn enlisted. Second Lieutenant Brymn led the 350th Artillery Band when it was stationed at Camp Dix, NJ, and in France. In Brymn's "Black Devils" orchestra performed for President Woodrow Wilson and General John Pershing at the opening of the 1919 Peace Conference. Brymn released a dozen albums and led nightclub orchestras after the war. He and fellow veteran, James Reese Europe, are considered the fathers of jazz. Brymn died October 3, 1946, and is buried in Long Island National Cemetery (Section A, Site 45 N/S).

Samuel Albert Countee (1909-1959) was born in Texas. He grew up in Houston, graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1928, and earned a reputation as a talented artist. He came of age during the Harlem Renaissance and majored in art at Bishop College. In 1933 his painting Little Brown Boy attracted national attention and in 1936 his murals were included in the Texas Centennial Hall of Negro Life. During these years, he studied in Boston, established himself in New York, and received accolades for portrayals of African Americans. In World War II, Countee joined the U.S. Army and served 1942-1945. Staff Sergeant Countee was stationed in Iran and stateside when, in 1945, he painted a mural in the black officers' club at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Countee returned to New York after the war, married in 1953, and died six years later on September 11 (Section 2B, 2134).

GROUP BURIALS: Among the interments in Long Island National Cemetery are 39 group burials containing the remains of 112 veterans. For these individuals, the circumstances of death were such that their remains could not be identified for separate burials. These honored dead, who fought and died together, are united once more in the many group burials. Specially designed government headstones bearing their names, ranks, and dates of death designate the burial places of these dead. The largest group burial in the cemetery is one in which the individually unidentifiable remains of ten servicemen are interred. This group burial is the final resting place of three officers, one technical sergeant, two sergeants, and four corporals, all members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, who died together during World War II on May 4, 1945.

Another group burial marks the final resting place of four American servicemen and two members of the British Armed Forces. Their plane crashed in the Burmese jungle in April 1945, and attempts to locate the wreckage were fruitless. It was not until 1957 that the Army, acting upon information supplied by Burmese tribesmen who had found a wreck in the jungle, finally discovered the place and its ill-fated passengers. After an agreement with the families of the deceased were made, the remains of the six men were interred on Feb. 5, 1958 in Section M, Site 27188.

In 1948 the remains of 16 Civil War soldiers of the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery were removed from the cemetery at Fort Greble, R.I., and reinterred in Long Island National Cemetery. Additional burials were made in 1952 when 104 remains from Fort McKinley, Maine, were reinterred.

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.