Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Source: National Cemetery Administration · cem.va.gov · scraped May 2026

History of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is located on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation, 10 miles west of San Diego, California. The hilly peninsula offers picturesque vistas to the city, bay, and Pacific Ocean. It was one of seven national cemeteries created between world wars, 1934–1939. It was the Army's first major expansion since the Civil War directed at serving a growing Veteran population and the rapidly depleting burial space at existing national cemeteries. Unlike previous new cemeteries, locations were based on Veterans' places of residence, especially in or near large cities. New cemetery locations were based on Veterans' places of residence. The other interwar national cemeteries are Baltimore, Maryland; Fort Bliss and Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Golden Gate, California; and Long Island, New York.

The Point Loma peninsula has held military importance dating to Spanish control of the region. While the Spanish Empire identified the area as potentially strategically important in the mid-1500s, a permanent settlement was not established here until the mid-1700s — to counter expansion of the Russian Empire into Alaska and the Pacific Coast. A presidio and mission in present-day Old Town San Diego were among the initial Spanish construction. Mexico won its independence from Spain and claimed the territory in 1821.

During the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), Brigadier Stephen Watts Kearny was tasked with conquering Mexico's northern provinces, New Mexico, and California. On December 6–7, 1846, his joint U.S. military force engaged a group of Californios (Mexican colonists born in California) in the Battle of San Pasqual, about 30 miles north of San Diego. Eighteen of Kearny's men fell in the battle, but his forces held the field. The dead were buried where they fell, but by 1874 the remains were removed to the San Diego Military Reservation. Eight years later they were reinterred at what is now Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. In 1922, the San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West had a large boulder brought from the battlefield and placed at the gravesite with a plaque that lists the names of the dead.

Soon after San Pasqual, the U.S. military fortified the San Diego Mission as a post. In 1850, California joined the Union as a state. Disputes between the War Department and city of San Diego over Point Loma prevented the construction of a military installation there until the late 1860s. A permanent, habitable, fort was not completed until the Spanish American War (1898–1902) forced the issue in February 1898. The fort was named for Civil War General William Starke Rosecrans in 1899.

The Fort Rosecrans Post Cemetery was the origin of what became Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. During the period as a post cemetery, most notably, this tract became the final resting place for sailors killed in the July 21, 1905, boiler explosion on the USS Bennington. A substantial peacetime naval tragedy, the explosion led to the deaths of sixty crew. On July 23, 1905, the cemetery held funeral services for thirty-six of the sixty victims (one was later disinterred). A burial trench 60 feet long and 14 feet wide was dug at "the desolate cemetery surrounded by a rude picket fence." Soon after, the Pacific Squadron erected a large, granite obelisk in memory of the tragedy; the obelisk marks the location of the thirty-five gravesites within a low masonry wall.

After the USS Bennington tragedy, high-ranking Army and the Navy officials made several attempts to designate the post cemetery at Fort Rosecrans as a national cemetery. The War Department did not approve. It argued that San Francisco National Cemetery, established in 1884 as the sole West Coast national cemetery, provided ample burial space. The post cemetery grew during this period, despite the failed attempts to raise its status.

Expansion of Veterans' burial benefits in 1920 created a dramatic increase in the civilian population eligible for burial. Additionally, the continued presence of thousands of active-duty military on the Pacific coast, strained the capacity of San Francisco National Cemetery. These factors led to the establishment of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery by War Department General Orders No. 7 on October 5, 1934. The original 8-acre cemetery grew by slightly more than 62 acres between 1934 and 1965, bisected by Cabrillo Memorial Drive.

Much of the construction of the cemetery was accomplished by the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), which brought the southern half near to completion by March 1938. By 1940, burial space at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery already dwindled.

When established as a national cemetery in 1934, there were no extant buildings. But by 1936, recognizable features of the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery built landscape included regionally inspired Spanish Eclectic-style structures and buildings — an open rostrum, superintendent lodge, and maintenance facility/restrooms — with stucco finishes with Mission tile roofs. Work on the cemetery's first boundary wall on the east side of Cabrillo Memorial Drive, including the main entrance, was finished in 1938. As burial sections expanded in the 1940s, so did the eastern boundary wall. The Gettysburg Address tablet was installed on the rostrum in 1936; other historic tablets found at the cemetery are the Memorial Day Order and National Cemetery Act.

By August 15, 1947, the Army's official plan to meet demands for burial space was to expand the cemetery with north and south land additions. Development along the west side of Cabrillo Memorial Drive commenced by the early 1950s. The west entrance gates and U.S. flagpole were added in 1952. While older buildings on the cemeter's east side reflected more traditional architectural styles, the administration office built in 1957 reflects mid-century influences.

In 1965, the Department of the Navy transferred approximately 1 acre to the cemetery. The next year, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery officially closed to new interments other than Vietnam War casualties, reserved gravesites, and second interments at existing gravesites. The cemetery provided interment space for cremains by the construction of columbaria walls and in-ground niches beginning in 2002; when the final niche was claimed in May 2014, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery again closed to new burials. To supplant Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and finally provide much-needed burial space, approximately 16 miles to the north, in January 2010 NCA opened Miramar National Cemetery.

Fort Rosecrans is one of more than eighty VA national cemeteries that use upright headstones and flat grave markers in separate burial sections. Here, flat markers are used in certain infill sections, near roads and walls. The cemetery was designated a California Historical Landmark in 1932. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Monuments and Memorials The granite and bronze USS Wasp (CV-7) monument commemorates the loss of fellow shipmates during Battle of Guadalcanal on September 15, 1942. Erected in 1995, the upright granite block measures approximately 6½ feet tall with an affixed bronze plaque.

The San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West installed the Battle of San Pasqual Monument in 1922 to honor the soldiers who died in the 1846 battle during the Mexican War. The monument is a 3-foot-tall granite boulder affixed with a bronze plaque.

The USS Bennington (PG 4) Monument is a 60-foot-tall obelisk dedicated to the men who lost their lives on that ship in San Diego Harbor on July 21, 1905. The monument was completed in 1907 and dedicated on January 7, 1908. Placed on a prominent hill, visible for miles at sea, the monument was a San Diego landmark for many years. Nothing is known about the designer or builder, but the granite was quarried locally. The obelisk is made of seventy-four rusticated blocks each 18 inches tall; it measures 6-feet square at the base, tapering to 3½-feet square at the top, capped with a 5-foot-tall, polished granite apex. A low wall of granite curbing borders the graves of the men who died in the explosion. In 2010, a monument-conservation project restored the placement of the curbing, which had been obscured, and otherwise treated the obelisk.

The Ommaney Bay (CVE-79) Monument, which honors the men lost in action when this ship was bombed in January 1945, was erected ca. 1994. The upright granite block with bronze plaques is approximately 6½ feet tall and 6 feet wide.

The granite Taffy 3 Monument was dedicated on October 24, 1996, in memory of the men who died during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) and in subsequent battles of the Pacific.

The granite and bronze USS Gambier Bay (CVE 73) Monument was dedicated on October 25, 1996, in memory of the men who lost their lives during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) and in subsequent battles of the Pacific. Family members and survivors donated the monument.

A trio of inscribed granite blocks form the monument to the men who died on the USS Hoel (DD 533), USS Johnston (DD 557), and USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE 413) during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines). Dedicated in 1995, collectively the panels measure about 16 feet wide.

The USS St. Lo (CVE-63) and Composite Squadron VC-65 monument was erected in 1994 to the memory of the men who died on those ships in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines). The upright granite block with bronze plaques is approximately 6½ feet tall and 6 feet wide.

The Mormon Battalion Monument was erected ca. 1995–1998 to commemorate the 2,000-mile march the Mormons made from Iowa to San Diego in 1846–1847 during the Mexican-American War. The polished white marble tablet is inscribed with a depiction of a man and a woman, presumably Albert Warren Dunham and Lydia Ann Edmunds Hunter. Both died during the march and were interred on Point Loma until the Army relocated their remains to Fort Rosecrans in 1887 along with other military personnel.

The Patriots of America monument was dedicated in 1999 by the California State Society of the Founders and Patriots of America to honor all Americans who answered the call to arms.

The polished black granite 3rd Infantry Division monument was dedicated on February 16, 2002, dedicated to their fallen comrades.

The Blue Star Memorial Marker was donated by the Point Loma Garden Club of California and dedicated on June 24, 2010. The marker is a tribute to American men and women who have served, are serving, or will serve their country. Its symbolism dates to World War II when families of men and women in service displayed a square flag decorated with a blue star in their windows to signify that a loved one was in the armed forces.

The black granite Vietnam War Memorial Monument was donated in 2023 by the Vietnam Veterans of America, San Diego Chapter. It recognizes the service and sacrifice of those Vietnam War Veterans who have their final resting place at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. It also affords families, friends and visitors an opportunity to reflect on what was the Vietnam War. It overlooks Coronado, North Island Naval Air Station and the gateway to the Pacific Ocean.

Notable interments

Veterans, public figures, and citizens of note buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, listed by section and site as recorded by the National Cemetery Administration.

Eligibility for burial at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Planning ahead for a Veteran's or loved-one's final resting place can eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce stress on a family at a difficult time.

Request eligibility status for:

Veteran or servicemember Spouse Dependent family member Apply online »

Burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

Directions

From Interstate 5 South or Interstate-8 West: Exit at Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard.

From Interstate 5 North: Exit and turn left on Hawthorne Street, turn right on N. Harbor Drive, turn left on Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard. Exit at Rosecrans Street (State route 209), turn right on Canon, turn left on Catalina Blvd.

Floral and grounds policy

Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves and in the gravel areas surrounding the Columbarium, Memorial Walls or Memorial Monuments at any time. Cemetery furnished temporary flower containers are available and located throughout the cemetery in specially marked containers.

All floral items will be removed as soon as they become faded and/or unsightly, and may also be removed every week to accommodate grounds maintenance, to include removal of artificial flowers. Floral pickup is every Friday.

Weapons policy

VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.

Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.

Nearest cemeteries

The three closest veteran cemeteries to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (by straight-line distance):

• Miramar National Cemetery — San Diego, CA (14 mi · open)
• Riverside National Cemetery — Riverside, CA (84 mi · open)
• Los Angeles National Cemetery — Los Angeles, CA (119 mi · closed)

Nearby veteran-friendly funeral homes

The following funeral homes within a 50-mile radius of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery have demonstrated a commitment to serving veterans through specialized services, VA benefits coordination, or dedicated honors details.