Los Angeles National Cemetery

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.

Los Angeles National Cemetery
Cemetery entrance.
Details
Established1889
Location
Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
CountryUSA
Coordinates34°03′40″N 118°27′12″W
TypePublic
Owned byUS Department of Veterans Affairs
Size114 acres developed
13 acres under development
WebsiteOfficial website
Find a GraveLos Angeles National Cemetery
Bob Hope Veterans Chapel, with a plaque honoring Hope shown on the wall by the chapel's entrance

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:

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."[2][3]

Medal of Honor recipients

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

  • 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).
  • 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 Harry Harvey (also known as Harry Huckman[1]), (Spanish American War) U. S. Marine Corps, April 5, 1929 (Section 60, Grave E-4).
  • 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).
  • Landsman William F. Lukes (Korean Campaign of 1871) U. S. Navy, Company D. Korean Forts, June 9–10, 1871 (Section 7, Grave F-19).
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • Private Charles W. Rundle, (Civil War) U.S. Army, Company A, 116th Illinois Infantry. Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863 (Section 34, Grave 1-11).
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • 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).

Other veterans
A bronze soldier standing at parade rest is perched atop a boulder to honor Civil War soldiers, erected in 1942.
View towards southwest and the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel

Future burials

Los Angeles National Cemetery has been closed to new interments since approximately 1978, with the exception of spouses of those already buried. To accommodate community need, the Department of Veterans Affairs acquired another 13 acres (5.3 ha) to permit the cemetery to expand.[8] 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 (46 ha).[9]

The entrance sign to the new columbarium section opened October 2019

In 2017, Los Angeles National Cemetery began construction on the first phase of the columbarium on Constitution Avenue, west of I-405 just 100 yards (91 m) from the main cemetery entrance. This phase opened in October 2019 and occupies approximately 4.4 acres (1.8 ha) of the site and holds 10,000 niches for cremated remains. The cemetery will construct additional niches on the site as needed until it reaches the planned capacity of 90,854.[10]

See also

    References
    1. "Los Angeles National Cemetery". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
    2. "CORRECTION: Dedication Ceremony to Honor Bob Hope, May 29 at Los Angeles National Cemetery" (Press release). Los Angeles National Cemetery. 2002-05-24. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06 – via Primezone.
    3. "Bob Hope Veterans Chapel Renovation". Veterans Park Conservancy. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
    4. Wolfson, Lisa (April 1, 1987). "Memorial Service for Pilot-Actor Son of Dean Martin". Associated Press. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
    5. "Howard McNear, Actor, 63; On Andy Griffith Show". The New York Times. January 7, 1969. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
    6. "Los Angeles National Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
    7. "Among the fallen heroes, two dogs rest". Zev Yaroslavsky; LA County Supervisor. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
    8. Denkmann, Libby (October 10, 2019). "LA's Only National Cemetery For Vets Is Finally Taking New Applications After More Than 40 Years". LAist. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
    9. Spencer, Aaron (January 24, 2012). "Walker Macy designs Los Angeles National Cemetery expansion". Daily Journal of Commerce. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
    10. "VA Dedicates New Columbarium at Los Angeles National Cemetery" (Press release). National Cemetery Administration. October 7, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
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