Calverton National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress o ...

in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. The cemetery's street address is in Calverton but the property is in the adjacent hamlet of Wading River. It encompasses and as of the end of 2008 had 212,000 interments. It has the largest area of any national cemetery in the United States, and the busiest (in terms of daily burials) conducting more than 7,000 burials each year as of 2011.

History

When the National Cemetery System constructed Calverton National Cemetery in 1978, the cemetery became the third national cemetery to be located on Long Island. The other national cemeteries situated on Long Island are

Cypress Hills National Cemetery Cypress Hills National Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the only United States National Cemetery in New York City and has more than 21,100 interments of veterans and civilians. ...

, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...

, which was established in 1862 and

Long Island National Cemetery Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue (County Road 3) – these include P ...

, in Farmingdale, New York, established in 1936. In 1974, Long Island National Cemetery was the only national cemetery on Long Island with available space for burials—but its maximum burial capacity was soon to be exhausted. As a result, plans were developed by the National Cemetery System to construct a new regional cemetery to serve the greater New York area, home then to nearly three million veterans and their dependents. On December 7, 1977, a tract of land was transferred from the

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton (NWIRP) was a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility which had the mission of designing, fabricating, and testing prototype aircraft from 1956 until 1996, in Riverhead, New York, Un ...

to the Veterans Administration for use as a national cemetery. The National Cemetery System realized that Calverton National Cemetery would become one of its more active cemeteries. For that reason, they designed and built a feature called a committal “wheel” of shelters that permits multiple burial services to be held simultaneously. To the left of the main cemetery entrance, around the Veteran’s Circle, are seven committal shelters. After the funeral service, the caskets are moved into the hub of the wheel and then transported to their respective gravesites. In 1983, the walls of the committal shelters were reconstructed to serve as

columbaria A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colum ...

for the inurnment of cremated remains.

Notable monuments

Calverton National Cemetery features a memorial pathway lined with a variety of memorials that honor America’s veterans. As of 2003, there were 18 memorials here, most commemorating soldiers of 20th century wars.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

recipient ** Michael P. Murphy, Lieutenant, US Navy SEAL. Afghanistan. Awarded the

in Operation Enduring Freedom. * Others ** Edward Walter Egan, Sergeant, US Marines. NYPD detective and actor. Role model for

Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle is a fictional character portrayed by actor Gene Hackman in the films '' The French Connection'' (1971) and its sequel, ''French Connection II'' (1975), and by Ed O'Neill in the 1986 television film '' Popeye Doyle'' ...

in the 1971 film '' The French Connection'' **

Dorothy Frooks Dorothy Frooks (February 12, 1896 – April 13, 1997) was an American writer, publisher, military officer, lawyer, and suffragist. She also ran for Congress twice, in 1920 as a member of the Prohibition Party and in 1934 on the Law Pres ...

, Communications Yeoman, US Navy/ Technician 5, US Army. Served in World War I and World War II. Actress and author. ** Francis S. Gabreski, Colonel, US Air Force. The top American fighter ace in Europe during World War II, a jet fighter ace in Korea. ** Cassius C.A. Harris, U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

** Leonard Jackson, World War II US Navy veteran. Actor who appeared on both ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) an ...

'' and '' Shining Time Station''. **

Albert Paulsen Albert Paulsen (born Albert Paulson; 13 December 1925 in Guayaquil, Ecuador – 25 April 2004 in Los Angeles, California) was an Ecuadorian-American actor who appeared in many American television series beginning in the 1960s, playing chara ...

, Private, World War II US Army. Actor. ** Arthur Pinajian, Corporal, US Army, World War II. Awarded

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. Comic book creator and illustrator in the 1930s to 1950s, and impressionist artist. ** Isaac Woodard, Jr., Sergeant, US Army, World War II. African American World War II veteran whose 1946 beating and maiming sparked national outrage. **

Hubert Julian Hubert Fauntleroy Julian (21 September 1897 – 19 February 1983) was a Trinidad-born aviation pioneer. He was nicknamed " The Black Eagle". Early years Hubert Fauntleroy Julian was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1897. His father, Henry, ...

, Trinidad-born aviation pioneer. He was nicknamed "The Black Eagle".

References

External links

Calverton National Cemetery
* * * {{HALS , survey=NY-1 , id=ny2016 , title=Calverton National Cemetery Brookhaven, New York Riverhead (town), New York United States national cemeteries Cemeteries in Suffolk County, New York Historic American Landscapes Survey in New York (state) 1978 establishments in New York (state)

History

Notable monuments

Notable interments

See also

References

External links