Houston 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 ...

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

, near

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It encompasses only about half of which is developed. The cemetery had more than 111,000 interments as of 2021. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2017.

History

First established on December 7, 1965, as a

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

Cemetery, it became Houston National Cemetery in 1973 after the passage of the National Cemetery Act. It was the only government cemetery constructed in the United States during the 1960s and was the largest of its kind at the time of construction. At , the cemetery is smaller than the of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Notable monuments

The

Hemicycle In legislatures, a hemicycle is a semicircular, or horseshoe-shaped, debating chamber (''plenary chamber''), where deputies (members) sit to discuss and pass legislation. Although originally of Ancient Greek roots, the term and modern design de ...

, a large semi-circular monument which surrounds a chapel and a 75' high bell tower, with a large courtyard for open air ceremonies. The Hemicycle is the largest memorial and the most visible structure at the cemetery. The memorial is the only NCA-managed hemicycle memorial and is one of three hemicycles located in national cemeteries. The others are located at

and

Manila American Cemetery The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinle ...

and Memorial in the Philippines. Located in the center of the hemicycle are the chapel,

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

and speaker's stand. David Parsons, a professor of art at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

, sculpted a bas relief of three forms, a fallen

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

supported by two comrades. The tower, 305-bell, Schulmerich carillon was dedicated May 30, 1970.

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. ...

recipients ** Captain James H. Fields, for action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

** Staff Sergeant Marcario Garcia, for action in World War II ** First Lieutenant

Raymond L. Knight Raymond Lee Knight (June 15, 1922 – April 25, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography Knight joined t ...

, for action in World War II ** First Sergeant David McNerney, for action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

* Others **

Dan Bankhead Daniel Robert Bankhead (May 3, 1920 – May 2, 1976) was the first African American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played in Negro league baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox from 1940 to 1947, then played for th ...

, the first African American pitcher in major league baseball **

Kermit Beahan Kermit King Beahan (August 9, 1918 – March 9, 1989) was a career officer in the United States Air Force and its predecessor United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was the bombardier on the crew flying the Boeing B-29 Superfortres ...

, bombardier of the ''

Bockscar ''Bockscar'', sometimes called Bock's Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped a Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II in the secondand most recent nuclear attack in ...

'', which dropped the second atomic bomb in Japan **

Willard Brown Willard Jessie Brown (June 26, 1915 – August 4, 1996), nicknamed "Home Run" Brown, was an American baseball player who played outfielder in the Negro leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Brown ...

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

r **

Goree Carter Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter (December 31, 1930 – December 29, 1990), was an American singer, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter. He was also credited with the stage names Little T-Bone, Rocky Thompson and Gory Carter, and record ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

pioneer and

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

veteran ** Margie Duty, first African American woman on the Houston police force ** Hal Epps, Major League Baseball player **

Lisa Gaye Leslie Gaye Griffin (March 6, 1935 – July 14, 2016), better known as Lisa Gaye, was an American actress, and dancer. Early years Gaye was born in Denver, Colorado to Frank Henry Griffin, a painter, and Margaret Allen Griffin (née Gibson) ...

, actress **

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Houston, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn excel ...

, musician ** J. L. Parks, basketball playerJohn Leonard Parks
/ref> ** Albert Thomas, US Representative

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Houston National Cemetery
* * * {{Find a Grave cemetery Historic American Landscapes Survey in Texas Protected areas of Harris County, Texas United States national cemeteries Cemeteries in Harris County, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Harris County, Texas Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas 1965 establishments in Texas