Sitka National Cemetery
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Sitka 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 ...
located in the city of Sitka, Alaska. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005 had 1,049 interments. It is administered as part of the Fort Richardson National Cemetery by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs 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 ...
.


History

Laid out by General Jefferson C. Davis, at some point between 1868 and 1870 during his time as the first commander of the
Department of Alaska Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under ...
, as a place to inter military personnel who died while serving at the local Marine base or were under care at the Naval hospital. In 1912, the military withdrew from the area and the cemetery was neglected until 1921 when the Sitka American Legion petitioned the
Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...
for an allocation of funds to maintain the site. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge gave an executive order declaring the site a National Cemetery, and the maintenance responsibility was turned over to the
United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...
. A 1925 revision of the executive order reduced the area of the site, but donations of land in 1957, 1959, and in the mid 1980s made it larger than it was originally. The cemetery was enlisted as a historic district in 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 ...
in 2012.


Notable monuments

* There are two cannons that serves as a memorial to all those who are interred at the cemetery.


Notable interments

* John Green Brady, governor of the Territory of Alaska from 1897 to 1906. * Captain Charles William Paddock, Olympic gold and silver medalist from the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Olympics. * Staff Sergeant
Archie Van Winkle Colonel Archie Van Winkle (March 17, 1925 – May 22, 1986) was a United States Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as a staff sergeant during the advance to the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. A combat veteran of World ...
,
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 valo ...
recipient for action in the
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 ...
. (
Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
– his remains were cremated and scattered at sea.)


See also

* List of cemeteries in Alaska *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Sitka City and Borough, Alaska __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Sitka, Alaska. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Sitka, Alaska, United States. ...


References


External links


National Cemetery Administration
* * * {{Authority control Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures in Sitka, Alaska United States national cemeteries Protected areas of Sitka, Alaska Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Historic American Landscapes Survey in Alaska 1870 establishments in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Sitka, Alaska