May 25, 2009
Veterans Cemeteries in California
California now has 8 National Cemeteries throughout the State, the newest one is in the Bakersfield area that will be serving Veterans in the California Central Valley by the Fall of 2009.
Fort Rosecrans Flickr Photo Courtesy of Padraic
The National cemeteries were established on July 17, 1862 by Congress as a place to bury those that died in the Civil War. They are specifically for deceased veterans and members of the armed forces and their families. The most famous of the National Cemeteries’ is Arlington, although it is managed by the Army instead of the VA like the others.
The following are the 8 National Cemeteries in the State of California.
- Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery –a California Registered Landmark
- Golden Gate National Cemetery
- Los Angeles National Cemetery
- Riverside National Cemetery
- San Francisco National Cemetery –Oldest NC on the West Coast~1884
- San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery
- Sacramento Valley National Cemetery-Dedicated April 22, 2007
- Bakersfield National Cemetery- New for veterans in the Central Valley
Riverside is the busiest National Cemetery, and it is also the home of the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial, one of the newest monuments in the country. Bakersfield is our newest National Cemetery and is scheduled to begin accepting burials in the Fall (2009).
Any Veteran that wasn’t dishonorably discharged, their spouse, and dependent children are eligible for burial. All gravesites in the cemeteries’ are perpetually cared for at no cost to the families. Click on the links of the National Cemeteries above for more info, directions, etc.
Thesa Chambers said,
May 28, 2009 @ 12:19 am
I am impressed – I don’t know that I know where there are National Cemeteries in Oregon… will have to add this to my must know list… thank you for sharing on this great day!
Kathy McGraw said,
May 28, 2009 @ 11:08 am
Thesa,
I used to live very close to the LA Cemetary, and now I live close to the Riverside one. A couple years ago the Government approved new National Cemetaries in a few states and our Bakersfield one was one of those.