Los Angeles National Cemetery

Los Angeles National Cemetery

Cemetery entrance.
Details
Established 1889
Location Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
Country USA
Coordinates 34°03′40″N 118°27′12″W / 34.061°N 118.4534°W / 34.061; -118.4534Coordinates: 34°03′40″N 118°27′12″W / 34.061°N 118.4534°W / 34.061; -118.4534
Type Public
Owned by US Department of Veterans Affairs
Size 114 acres developed, 13 acres under development
Website Official website
Find a Grave Los Angeles National Cemetery
Bob Hope Veterans Chapel, with a plaque honoring Hope shown on the wall by the chapel's entrance

The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California.

Geography

The entrance to the cemetery is located at 950 South Sepulveda Boulevard (90049) at Constitution Avenue, near the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard. It is adjacent to Westwood, Los Angeles and UCLA along the east across Veteran Avenue, and the main Sawtelle Veterans Home campus across the San Diego Freeway (405) along the west. The cemetery was dedicated on May 22, 1889.[1] It is directly connected to the central Veterans Home facilities by Constitution Avenue's underpass below freeway.

Cemetery

Interred on its 114 acres (46 ha) are war veterans, from the:

An annual ceremony commemorating the birthday of Abraham Lincoln is held at the cemetery on or near February 12. The cemetery's annual Memorial Day program draws several thousand attendees each year.

The chapel at the cemetery was renamed the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel on 29 May 2002, Bob Hope's 99th birthday, in "celebration of his lifelong service to our American Veterans".

Notable burials

Medal of Honor recipients

Fourteen Medal of Honor recipients are buried at the cemetery:[1]

Other veterans

A bronze soldier standing at parade rest is perched atop a boulder to honor Civil War soldiers, erected in 1942.
View towards southwest and the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel

Future burials

Los Angeles National Cemetery has been closed to new interments since about 2002, with the exception of spouses of those already buried.[3] In order to accommodate future community need, United States Department of Veterans Affairs has acquired another 13 acres (5.3 ha) to permit the cemetery to expand. Future interments will be in urns of cremated ashes placed in columbarium walls built on the new land. By eliminating ground burials, the new acreage will permit about as many new interments as are in the existing 114 acres.[3]

Local Issues

After the September 11 attacks a pedestrian gate on the Eastern side of the cemetery was closed "for security reasons." This ongoing closure has significantly affected the ability of eastbound pedestrians and cyclists to avoid a long block of very busy and "dangerous for cyclists" Wilshire Boulevard to commute to/access the UCLA campus and downtown Westwood Village.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cemeteries – Los Angeles National Cemetery". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
  3. 1 2 Aaron Spencer (January 24, 2012). "Walker Macy designs Los Angeles National Cemetery expansion". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
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