Golden Gate 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 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, located in the city of

San Bruno San Bruno (Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to Sa ...

, south of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with

San Francisco National Cemetery San Francisco National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with Golden Gate National Cemetery, a few miles south of the ci ...

, which dates to the 19th century and is in the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

, in view of the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...

. Around 1937, San Francisco residents voted to bar the opening of new cemeteries within the city proper and, as a result, the site for the new national cemetery was selected south of the city limits in adjacent

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

Golden Gate National Cemetery from the air July 2014

History

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

authorized construction of the facility in 1937, with the first interments in 1941. The cemetery was officially dedicated on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, May 30, 1942.

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...

(later

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, then Chief Justice of the United States) was keynote speaker at the ceremony. Golden Gate is one of a large number of

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

-planned cemeteries started in the 1930s and completed during the 1940s. They were designed specifically to provide abundant burial opportunities in locations around the nation in cities with very large veteran populations. As of 2005, the cemetery held 137,435 interments. Over the years, several attempts to expand Golden Gate National Cemetery were met with resistance from local residents, so it has remained at its original since 1941. Several service members who are buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery were interned in the stables at the nearby

Tanforan Racetrack Tanforan Racetrack, also known as Tanforan Park, was a thoroughbred horse racing facility in San Bruno, on the San Francisco Peninsula, in California. It was in operation from November 4, 1899, to 1964. The horse racing track and buildings were con ...

during the early part of the

Japanese American internment Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. Also notable is that the Golden Gate National Cemetery was the first cemetery to initiate the large flag display on Memorial Day. Flags are raised around the base of the hill in the center of the cemetery and small flags are placed on each grave site by various scout volunteers. This practice was created and put into effect by John T. Spelman, the superintendent of the cemetery at the time. The cemetery 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 2016.

Monuments and memorials

The American Veterans donated a Schulmerich

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 ...

to the cemetery as part of their worldwide living memorial carillon program. The carillon was dedicated May 30, 1958.

Notable burials

Medal of Honor Recipients

(Dates are of the actions for which they were awarded the

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. ...

* Corporal Edward A. Bennett (

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 ...

), U.S. Army, Company B, 358th Infantry,

90th Infantry Division 90th Division may refer to: ;Infantry * 90th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1949–1950 * 90th Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1950–1952 * 90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 90th Infantry Divi ...

Heckhuscheid Heckhuscheid is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

, Germany, February 1, 1945 * Master Sergeant Vito R. Bertoldo (World War II), U.S. Army, Company A, 242nd Infantry, 42nd Infantry.

Hatten Hatten is a municipality in Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southeast of Oldenburg, on the North-West edge of the Wildeshausen Geest Nature Park. Activities Tourism endeavours emphasise the recreational and sporting opport ...

, France, January 9–10, 1945 * Chief Gunner's Mate John Joseph Clausey

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. On board the , July 21, 1905 * Corporal John O. Dahlgren (

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

), U.S. Marine Corps. Peking, China, June 20 – July 16, 1900 * Private John Francis DeSwan (

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

), Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry.

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, July 1, 1898 * Private Mosheim Feaster (

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

), Company E,

7th U.S. Cavalry The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

Wounded Knee Creek Wounded Knee Creek is a tributary of the White River, approximately 100 miles (160 km) long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 30, 2011 in Oglala Lakota County, ...

, S.D., December 29, 1890 * Sergeant Paul H. Foster (

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 ...

), U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines,

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...

. Near

Con Thien Con Thien (Vietnamese: Cồn Tiên, meaning the "Hill of Angels") was a military base that started out as a U.S. Army Special Forces camp before transitioning to a United States Marine Corps combat base. It was located near the Vietnamese Demi ...

, Republic of Vietnam, October 14, 1967 * Sergeant Edward H. Gibson (

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

), Company M, 27th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers.

San Mateo, Rizal San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo ( tgl, Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, December 19, 1899 * Private First Class

Harold Gonsalves Harold Gonsalves (January 28, 1926 – April 15, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps private first class who was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. He was awarded the nation's highest military award for valor, the ...

(World War II), U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, April 15, 1945 * Captain Nelson M. Holderman (

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

), U.S. Army, 307th Infantry, 77th Division. Argonne, France, October 2–8, 1918 * Machinist's Mate William R. Huber, U.S. Navy. On board the , June 11, 1928 * Boatswain's Mate First Class Reinhardt J. Keppler (World War II), U.S. Navy. On board the , November 12–13, 1942 * Seaman Hugh P. Mullin (Philippine–American War), U.S. Navy. On board the USS ''Texas'', November 11, 1899 * Private First Class Stuart S. Stryker (World War II), U.S. Army, Company E, 513th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne Division. Near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

, Germany, March 24, 1945 * Private First Class Robert H. Young (

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 ...

), U.S. Army, Company E.,

8th Cavalry Regiment The 8th Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army formed in 1866 during the American Indian Wars. The 8th Cavalry continued to serve under a number of designations, fighting in every other major U.S. conflict since, except Worl ...

, 1st Cavalry Division. North of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

, Korea, October 9, 1950

Other burials

* Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of Pacific Fleet in World War II. A number of distinguished officers who served under him are also buried there: Admirals Raymond A. Spruance,

Richmond K. Turner Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner (May 27, 1885 – February 12, 1961), commonly known as Admiral Kelly Turner, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and is best known for commanding the Amphibious Force during the campaign across ...

, and

Charles A. Lockwood Charles Andrews Lockwood (May 6, 1890 – June 6, 1967) was a vice-admiral and flag officer of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the commander of ComSubPac, Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II. He devised ...

, by an arrangement made by all of them while living. * Edward L. Beach Sr., career naval officer *

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

, Marine Major General *

Joseph Gelders Joseph Sidney Gelders (November 20, 1898 – March 1, 1950) was an American physicist who later became an Anti-racism, antiracist, civil rights activist, labor organizer, and communist. In the mid-1930s, he served as the secretary and ...

antiracist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

, labor organizer, and communist *

Philip Habib Philip Charles Habib (February 25, 1920 – May 25, 1992) was an American career diplomat active from 1949 to 1987. During his 30-year career as a Foreign Service Officer, he had mostly specialized in Asia. In 1968, he was working to prevent th ...

, U.S. diplomat, veteran of World War II *

David A. Hargrave David Allen Hargrave (May 25, 1946 – August 29, 1988), known as ''The Dream Weaver'', was a prolific and sometimes controversial game designer and writer of fantasy and science fiction role-playing games (RPGs). Hargrave's most notable written ...

, fantasy author and Vietnam War veteran *

Besby Holmes Lieutenant Colonel Besby Frank Holmes (December 5, 1917 – July 23, 2006) was an American fighter pilot who in April 1943 took part in Operation Vengeance, a notable American wartime effort to kill Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who had plann ...

, fighter pilot decorated for his role in

Operation Vengeance Operation Vengeance was the American military operation to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy on April 18, 1943, during the Solomon Islands campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Yamamoto, commander of the Combi ...

* LeRoy P. Hunt, highly decorated Marine Corps General *

Percy Kilbride Percy William Kilbride (July 16, 1888 – December 11, 1964) was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series of feature films. Early life Kilbride was ...

, character actor, best known role was as 'Pa Kettle' in the "Ma & Pa Kettle" comedy film series of the 1950s *

Percy Northcroft Percy Wilfred Northcroft (August 31, 1886 – December 20, 1967) was an American football player and Naval officer. He played tackle for the Navy Midshipmen football team from 1905 to 1908 and was selected as an All-American in 1906 and 1908 ...

, All-American football player in 1906 and 1908 for the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Leo Ryan Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassina ...

, the first member of

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

to have been killed on duty in office; in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Oliver Sipple Oliver Wellington "Billy" Sipple (November 20, 1941 – late January 1989) was an American man known for intervening to prevent an assassination attempt against U.S. President Gerald Ford on September 22, 1975. A decorated U.S. Marine and disa ...

, Marine Vietnam War veteran who thwarted a 1975 assassination attempt on President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

* Edward L. Toppins,

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

World War II fighter pilot within 99th Pursuit Squadron of the famed

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 ...

Cafe Rise Above. "Edward Lucien Toppins". https://cafriseabove.org/joseph-d-elsberry/ *

Adrien Voisin Adrien Alexandre Voisin (1890–1979), was an American sculptor. He was known for his bronze work, and had been one of the lead architectural sculptors at Hearst Castle. Early life and education Adrien Alexandre Voisin was born on May 8, 1979 i ...

, American sculptor; during

he served first in the

American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps The American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps, also known as the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, was an organization started in London, England, in the fall of 1914 by Richard Norton, a noted archeologist and son of Harvard professor Charles Eliot N ...

, and later served in the 49th Infantry Regiment in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

in the Vietnam War and a former San Francisco County Supervisor; he assassinated San Francisco County Supervisor

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in N ...

and San Francisco Mayor

George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...

on November 27, 1978 * Clarence E. Willard, freak act vaudeville performer, known for elongation tricks

Non-citizens

* 3 British Commonwealth servicemen of World War II are buried here – one each from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Ferry Command,

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

and

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record. * The 44 German and Italian Prisoner of war, prisoners-of-war interred here were captured in North Africa after the collapse of the German

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

under the command of Fieldmarshal

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

in 1943. The POWs were housed at Camp Beale and Camp Cook in

and

Camp Rupert Camp Rupert was a World War II prisoner of war camp in the western United States, located in Minidoka County, Idaho, west of Paul. It was built for $1.5 million, which was everything needed for a city of 3,000: barracks, water, sewer, and a ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where they were originally buried at the respective post cemeteries. When the posts closed, the POWs were re-interred at Golden Gate.

References

External links

US Department of Veterans Affairs Golden Gate National Cemetery

* {{Authority control United States national cemeteries Protected areas of San Mateo County, California Tourist attractions in San Mateo County, California San Bruno, California Cemeteries in San Mateo County, California 1937 establishments in California Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Mateo County, California