Santa Fe National Cemetery

Santa Fe National Cemetery
Details
Santa Fe National Cemetery, 2008
Established	1870 (1870)
Location	Santa Fe, New Mexico
Country	United States
Coordinates	35°42′03″N 105°56′50″W / 35.70083°N 105.94722°W / 35.70083; -105.94722Coordinates: 35°42′03″N 105°56′50″W / 35.70083°N 105.94722°W / 35.70083; -105.94722
Type	United States National Cemetery
Owned by	US Department of Veterans Affairs
Size	78.6 acres (31.8 ha)
Number of interments	> 59,000
Website	Official
Find a Grave	Santa Fe National Cemetery

Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses 78.6 acres (31.8 ha), and as of 2014, had 59,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of two national cemeteries in New Mexico (the other being Fort Bayard). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

History

Though New Mexico only played a small part in the American Civil War, the cemetery was created after the war to inter the Union soldiers who died fighting there, primarily at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe donated the land to the federal government in 1870. In 1876 its status was changed to a post cemetery, but in 1885 it became a national cemetery once again.

Notable monuments

Memorial made of granite and bronze dedicated to World War II Glider Pilots, erected in 1994.
Memorial to "Women Who Served in the Navy" erected in 1995.
The China-Burma-India Veterans Memorial, dedicated to World War II veterans, erected in 2002.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor recipients
- First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., for action at the Battle of Tarawa during World War II.
- Watertender Edward A. Clary, for peace time service on board USS Hopkins
- Private Edwin L. Elwood, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
- Specialist Four Daniel D. Fernandez, for action during the Vietnam War.
- Corporal Jacob Guenther, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
- Second Lieutenant Raymond G. Murphy USMC, for action in Korea on February 3, 1953.
- Yuma Indian and Army Scout Sergeant Y. B. Rowdy, for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
- Captain Robert S. Scott, for action in World War II.
- Private First Class Jose F. Valdez, for action during World War II.
Others
- Captain George Nicholas Bascom, Union officer killed in the Battle of Val Verde in 1862.
- Governor Charles Bent, first American governor of New Mexico Territory.
- Lieutenant Colonel José Francisco Chaves, Union Army officer during the American Civil War, U.S. Representative from the New Mexico Territory, assassinated.
- John O. Crosby, musician, conductor and arts administrator
- Valentin de Vargas, actor, U.S. Army veteran.
- Major General Patrick J. Hurley, World War I and World War II veteran, U.S. Ambassador to China from (1944–45), and Secretary of War for President Herbert Hoover.
- Oliver La Farge, 1930 Pulitzer Prize winning author of the novel Laughing Boy.
- William G. Ritch, acting Governor of the New Mexico Territory, member of the Wisconsin State Senate.
- John Bristol Speer, attorney, judge, politician, and writer, interred on July 8, 2008.
- Master Sergeant Roy Tackett World War II Marine credited with the introduction of Sci-Fi to Japan and co-founder of Bubonicon
- Frank Chee Willeto, Navajo code talker, Congressional Silver Medal recipient and Vice President of the Navajo Nation (1998-1999).^[1]

References

↑ Simonich, Milan (2012-07-02). "Navajo Code Talker Willeto laid to rest". Texas-New Mexico Newspapers. The Deming Headlight. Retrieved 2012-07-13.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.