The History of the Miramar National Cemetery San Diego, CA
The History of the Miramar National Cemetery and why you should know it.
Want to know when the Miramar National Cemetery was made and why? Find out here and learn more about the monuments, The Liberation, Memorial Walk, Avenue of Flags, Columbariums, how to donate to the many organizations, and even a few notable veterans laid to rest there.
Image taken December 2022 during Wreaths Across America event by Morgan Liberatore of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
What is MNC?
Miramar National Cemetery is a 313-acre national cemetery in San Diego, California, will serve Veterans’ needs well into the 21st century. When complete will accommodate the remains of approximately 235,000 veterans and spouses.
Miramar National Cemetery includes both gravesite and columbarium facilities, providing a full range of burial alternatives to Veterans in San Diego County. MNC is considered an auxiliary of the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Where is MNC Located?
The cemetery is located about 15 miles (24 km) north of Downtown San Diego on Nobel Drive between Miramar Road and Interstate 805.
Address: 5795 Nobel Dr, San Diego, CA 92122
When did Miramar National Cemetery Open?
It was dedicated January of 2010 with the first interment occurring in November of 2010 and the first casket burial occurring in April of 2011 (San Diego Union Tribune, July 2011).
Why was it made?
The nearby Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery closed to first interment casketed burials in 1966, though it continues to provide casketed interments of family members of those currently interred and inurnments of cremated remains and the next closest casket burials for the San Diego Area was the Riverside National Cemetery.
Columbarium areas for urn interments 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
What is located on the Miramar National Cemetery?
The cemetery contains 313 acres dedicated for full casket burials and cremated remains. It has 16 designated areas (not all currently being used) for full casket burials and two Columbarium areas for urn interments. It also has two, "Committal Service Shelters" or open sided covered shelters. North of the central "Avenue of Flags" is a "Memorial Walk" with dedications and benches for reflections. A planned Ossuary is located at the end of the "Memorial Walk" and designated as the "Memorial Plaza." The Administration Office has an interior service room and a unique funeral possession lane behind it. Near the entrance is a "P.O.W. Plaza" where the bronze memorial to prisoners of war called "Liberation" is located.
Committal Shelter 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
One of the two Committal Service Shelters during the funeral service for K.C. Smith Dec 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
One of the two Committal Service Shelters 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
The Monuments and Memorials
More information on the Liberation Memorial
The Liberation, a memorial by sculptor Richard Becker that was dedicated on Sept. 16, 2011, honors the sacrifice of veterans captured during America's foreign wars. The San Diego American Ex-Prisoners of War-Chapter 1 donated the 15-foot-tall figurative composition of a bronze soldier and POW flag atop a concrete base.
Image taken DEC 2022 during famous Wreaths Across America by Morgan Liberatore of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC
Memorial Walk
This encompasses many memorials and a newer addition!
Jewish War Veterans
Commemoration of Jewish War Veterans whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. As of July 2018, the American Jewish Community has lost 58 service members in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. and many before (https://jwvusafoundation.org/).
Look into the Jewish ritual stones on Veteran Graces! JWV Organization
US Navy Seabees
US Navy Nurse Corps
by the California Garden Club, Palomar District
Korean War Memorial
Commemoration of the ultimate sacrifice made by all military brances who paid the ulitmate sacrifice defending the freedom of the Korean people. 1st Marine Division, 41 Commando Royal Marines during the Chosin Reservoir war 27 november 1950 to 11 December.
By the San Diego Chapter of the Chosin Few
US Army Green Berets Special Forces Regiment Memorial
Honoring the legendary elite U.S. Army Special Forces “Green Beret” Soldiers of every era and the legacy of the Special Forces Regiment (Green Beret Foundation).
US Paratroopers "Airborne" Memorial – added March 2018
( sandiego173rdairborne.org, 2018 ).
Honors all members of the Armed Forces who have earned the Silver Wings of U.S. Paratroopers (those who have graduated from jump school). Not only does it include any branch, but any war era and peacetime paratroopers that are interred at Miramar from 1941 to the present.
2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
Blue Start Memorial 2022 Morgan Liberatore from Morning Owl Fine Art LLC San Diego
Avenue of Flags
Dedicated on Saturday 28 January 2012, The Avenue of Flags contains fifty (50) steel flag poles with lighting to display all the American flags along the avenue twenty four (24) hours a day. The Avenue extends from near the cemetery entrance eastward toward a giant American flag and flagpole at the east end of the roadway at the Flag Assembly Area.
All of these flags get replaced multiple times a year and The Support Foundation takes care of flag replacement and repair. It was instrumental in the equipment, purchase and volunteer installation of the flagpoles with proper lighting. Volunteers provide about 1,000 hours of labor by digging trenches, assembling and landscaping.
2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
Avenue of Flags during Funeral Service for Bell 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
Avenue of Flags 2022 by Morgan of Morning Owl Fine Art LLC.
For other educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section of the Miramar National Cemetery Website.
Older History
San Diego Bay was the location of the first permanent European settlement on the West Coast of the United States due to its natural advantages as a protected harbor. In 1769, Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish Army soldier, established the Presidio of San Diego; Father Junipero Serra founded the San Diego de Alcala Mission. Both were located in the city's present-day Old Town neighborhood, approximately four miles north of the harbor.
San Diego served as a base of operations for the Spanish to colonize the territory of Alta California. New Spain's most remote territory was the southern terminus of El Camino Real, the trail connecting 21 missions.
San Diego grew slowly. The settlement was far removed from Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) hostilities, in which Spain lost to the newly independent country. Under Mexican rule, San Diego's population gradually increased as the central government encouraged immigration to frontier lands.
During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), a handful of small battles were fought in Southern California. On December 6-7, 1846, a combined U.S. force of soldiers, sailors, and marines under the command of General Stephen Kearny engaged a small group of Californios (Mexican colonists) in the Battle of San Pasqual, about 30 miles north of San Diego. Eighteen of Kearny's men fell in the battle, but U.S. forces managed to hold the field and win the war. The Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, signed in February 1848, established the border between the two countries 15 miles south of San Diego. California became a state two years later.
Miramar National Cemetery is located near Scripps Ranch, a neighborhood in northern San Diego located on the historic estate of newspaper publisher Edward W. Scripps. In 1891, Scripps began erecting an Italianate mansion on the property named for and modeled after Miramare Castle in Italy. The moniker eventually became associated with the surrounding mesa; loosely translated, Miramare means "sea view." The 49-room mansion was completed in 1898, and was the home of the Scripps family until 1969, when the property was sold to a real estate developer who demolished the building four years later.
Camp Kearny was established near Scripps Ranch in January 1917 as the United States prepared to enter World War I. During the war, Camp Kearny served as an Army training and mobilization center that could accommodate 32,000 men. After the Armistice, base operations were scaled back, but the government retained the site as a military and civilian air strip. In early 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis on test-flights from the base, in advance of his famous trans-Atlantic flight.
In the 1930s, the Navy and the Marines established operations at Camp Kearny, and it served as a headquarters for multiple air squadron groups during World War II. The facility was re-designated as Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar in 1947 and the Marines moved to Orange County, California.
During the Vietnam War, the Naval Fighters Weapons School popularly known as "Top Gun" was established at NAS Miramar. The installation served as a Naval Air Station until 1997, when it transitioned into a Marine Corps Aviation unit and was renamed Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar.
A large resident veteran population and limited burial capacity at nearby Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery-so designated in 1934 but associated with an older post cemetery-was the impetus for building a new national cemetery in the area. In 2008, MCAS Miramar leased land in perpetuity to the National Cemetery Administration to develop Miramar National Cemetery. Approximately one-third of this 313-acre property is reserved to protect federally endangered or threatened species-including the San Diego fairy shrimp, California gnatcatcher, Otay mesa-mint and San Diego button-celery.
Notable Burials as of Jan 2023
Medal of Honor recipients
Charles Schroeter (1837–1921), recipient from the American Civil War
Other burials
Rudy Bukich (1930–2016), an American football player in the National Football League who played for fourteen seasons (1953 and 1956 to 1968). He served with the United States Army from 1954–1956.
Jerry Coleman (1924–2014), a baseball broadcaster,[10] a former manager of the San Diego Padres, a World Series winning Major League Baseball second baseman for the New York Yankees and a Marine Corps pilot during World War II and the Korean War.
Tim LaHaye (1926–2016), an evangelical Protestant minister who wrote and co-wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the Left Behind series. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1944, and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II as a machine gunner aboard a bomber.
Don Marshall (1934–2016), actor known for his role as Dan Erickson in the television show Land of the Giants. He enlisted and served in the US Army during the Korean War.
Charlie Paulk (1946–2014) professional basketball player
How to donate cemetery plots to veterans?
Dignity Memorial has a Funeral Cremation Homeless Verteran Program. Too often, veterans who are homeless or indigent pass away while living on the streets, with no connection to family members of friends. The Dignity Memorial® Homeless Veterans Burial Program believes that all veterans deserve dignified funeral services and the military funeral honors in death that they are entitled to, regardless of their life circumstances. We take great pride in providing veterans with respectful, dignified funerals and burials befitting of their service. When we provide these services, our professionals work to deliver the Dignity Difference—that means we treat every memorial like a unique celebration of life, complete with traditional military honors like the playing of "Taps" or the folding of the flag.
Dignity Memorial professionals work hard to guarantee that our veterans receive the honors in death that their service in life merited. If you are interested in learning more about veterans burial benefits, reach out to a Dignity Memorial professional today.
Continue to Honor Their Life
While saying goodbye to a loved one can be a difficult and emotional experience, it helps to honor their life and remember how they impacted their family, friends, and country. When a Veteran passes on, we know that their legacy lives on in the lives of those who saw their selfless acts and learned that there are some things that are more important than your own life.
We want to walk with you through the process of planning for death. If you are a Veteran, we can help you put a plan into place for your funeral and your family’s future. If you are a survivor and need help planning for a Veteran’s arrangements, our professionals on staff would appreciate the chance to serve you as you walk this grief journey.
VETERANS LEGACY MEMORIAL (VLM)
VLM is a digital platform dedicated to the memory of the nearly 4.5 million Veterans. VLM interactive features allow you to post Tributes (comments), upload images, share your Veteran's military service timeline and achievements, biographical information, historical documents and more. You can search and post for a Veteran HERE.
If you want photos of your Veterans Funeral or Celebration of life photo’s like this, let me know right HERE!
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