National Cemetery Administration
Golden Gate National Cemetery
Visitation Hours: Open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Golden Gate National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite.
Burial in a 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.
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
Cemetery is located in the North end section of San Bruno. From San Francisco International Airport, proceed North on Highway 101 to San Bruno 380 exit and proceed to El Camino Real North. Turn right on El Camino Real; then left on Sneath Lane. The cemetery is on your right.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
Golden Gate National Cemetery was one of seven national cemeteries established during the expansion of the National Cemetery System between the World Wars, specifically in 1934–1939. This first major expansion since the Civil War was due to an increased veteran population, combined with the rapidly depleting burial space at existing national cemeteries.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
You can place fresh cut flowers on your loved one's grave throughout the year.
Floral items will be removed from graves the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month of when they become faded or unsightly. Items left on gravesites may be removed at any time to facilitate cemetery burial or grounds maintenance operations. Temporary flower containers are available to be used. Containers are located through the cemetery in specially marked containers.
You can place artificial flowers on graves from November 1st through March 1st.
Christmas wreaths and potted plants may be placed on graves beginning December 10th. These will be removed January 10. Grave blankets are not allowed due to the year-long growing season.
Potted plants may be placed on graves 5 days before Easter, and Memorial Day and must be removed 5 days following the holiday. Plantings will not be permitted on graves at any time.
To preserve the dignity and appearance of your loved one's final resting place, the following items aren't allowed at headstones or columbariums:
- Alcoholic products
- Balloons, candles, or vigil lights
- Decorative and breakable glass, plastic items, or objects
- Items over 24 inches in height
- Non-government supplied floral containers (pots, planters, glass vases, etc.)
- Objects such as rocks or other durable items, that when mowing or performing maintenance could become projectiles
- Offensive items or those deemed contrary to honoring Veterans
- Permanent in-ground plantings
- Pets are not permitted outside of vehicles except for service animals
- Picnics, biking, jogging, running or any recreational sports are not allowed
- Shepherd hooks, pinwheels and windchimes
- Solicitation is not permitted
- Statues or stuffed animals
- Unauthorized gatherings are not permitted
- Weapons of any kind, explosives, or ammunition
Please Note:
Floral items or decorations may not be secured to headstones, flat markers, or trees.
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.
Golden Gate National Cemetery was one of seven national cemeteries established during the expansion of the National Cemetery System between the World Wars, specifically in 1934–1939. This first major expansion since the Civil War was due to an increased veteran population, combined with the rapidly depleting burial space at existing national cemeteries. Locations for the cemeteries were chosen primarily on the basis of where veterans lived. The other interwar cemeteries are Baltimore, Maryland; Fort Bliss and Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Fort Rosecrans, California; and Long Island, New York national cemeteries.
San Francisco National Cemetery, established in that city's Presidio in 1884 and in view of Golden Gate Bridge, was reaching capacity by the mid-1930s. In 1937 Congress authorized construction of a new national cemetery in the city's suburbs. San Bruno, 12 miles south, was selected. Instead of naming the cemetery after its location as was customary, Golden Gate was chosen; the misnomer has created confusion ever since. By the end of 1940, San Francisco National Cemetery was closed to burials.
The land occupied by Golden Gate National Cemetery originally belonged to a Native American group known as the "Buri Buri." The Spanish government acquired it around 1797. In 1827, the new Mexican government sold the land to José Antonio Sanchez, a decorated military officer known for his campaigns against Native tribes. His family retained the property after it became a U.S. territory, and by 1875 it was purchased by R.G. Sneath for a ranch. Thereafter it was sold to the Jersey Farm Company, which sold the approximately 162 acres to the federal government in 1938.
The U.S. Army Quartermaster began construction in June 1940 with assistance from the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA), whose labor force graded the first four burial sections without heavy equipment. July 4, 1941 marked the cemetery's dedication, but the first three interments occurred on June 2, 1941. The cemetery has an L-shaped footprint with low-rolling hills interspersed with flat terrain features and a manmade mound that covers a reservoir where two large tracts intersect. The mound features a monumental flagpole circle and speaker's platform. The cemetery is distinguished by monumental entrance gates and a complex of buildings and structures built in a Mediterranean Revival style, completed in 1941. The symmetrical one-story granite buildings contain the administrative office, residential lodge, chapel, and maintenance functions. Golden Gate is one of seventy-eight VA national cemeteries that feature burial sections that use either upright headstones or flat grave markers.
In the early 1960s the cemetery started filling rapidly because large numbers of veterans from World War II, Korea, and eventually Vietnam were dying. Additionally, the cemetery's location as a major military port of embarkation meant it received many repatriated war dead from WWII through the Cold War. Original roadways in the cemetery were removed between 1962 and 1966 to accommodate the number of burials. However, the cemetery was at full capacity by 1966, decades sooner than anticipated. Attempts to expand the cemetery have failed.
Monuments and Memorials
There are nineteen memorial objects at Golden Gate National Cemetery. Twelve of these are small, flat bronze plaques set adjacent to the speaker's platform on Circle Drive. These primarily circular plaques are evenly spaced within a rectangular platform lined by low concrete retaining walls.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 390 Medal of Honor recipients interred in VA national cemeteries.
» Medal of Honor recipients buried or memorialized here:
Major Edward A. Bennett (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company B, 358th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division, for actions near Heckhuscheid, Germany, February 1945. Bennett died in 1983 and is buried in Section 2B, Site 1071-A.
Master Sergeant Vito R. Bertoldo (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 242nd Infantry, 42nd Infantry Division, for actions near Hatten, France, January 9–10, 1945. Bertoldo died in 1966 and is buried in Section C, Site 52-A.
Lieutenant John Joseph Clausey. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the U.S.S. Bennington for extraordinary heroism when a boiler exploded on the vessel at San Diego, CA, July 21, 1905. Clausey died in 1951 and is buried in Section C, Site 121-B.
Corporal John O. Dahlgren (Boxer Rebellion). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for actions during the battle of Peking, China, June 20–July 16, 1900. Dahlgren died in 1963 and is buried in Section Z, Site 1950.
First Lieutenant John Francis DeSwan (Spanish-American War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry, for actions at Santiago, Cuba, July 1, 1898. DeSwan died in 1956 and is buried in Section R, Site 195-A.
First Sergeant Mosheim Feaster (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, December 29, 1890. Feaster died in 1950 and is buried in Section O, Site 319.
Sergeant Paul H. Foster (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, in recognition of heroism and unhesitating self-sacrifice that saved his comrades from further injury near Con Thien, Republic of Vietnam, October 14, 1967. Foster is buried in Section V, Site 4764.
Sergeant Edward H. Gibson (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company M, 27th Infantry, for actions at San Mateo, Philippine Islands, December 19, 1899. Gibson died in 1942 and is buried in Section L, Site 7791.
Private First Class Harold Gonsalves (World War II). Harold Gonsalves of California enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943 and served with the 4th Battalion, 15th Marines, 6th Marine Division. On April 15, 1945, in the Ryukyu Chain, Japan, Gonsalves gave his life to protect fellow marines from a grenade blast by using his body. He received the Medal of Honor on June 19, 1946, posthumously and is buried in Section B, Site 61.
Captain Nelson M. Holderman (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 307th Infantry, 77th Division, for actions northeast of Binarville, in the forest of Argonne, France, October 2–8, 1918. Holderman died in 1953 and is buried in Section R, Site 17.
Lieutenant William R. Huber. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions after a boiler accident on board the USS Bruce, then at the Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, VA, June 11, 1928. Huber died in 1982 and is buried in Section 2B, Site 4085.
Boatswain's Mate First Class Reinhardt J. Keppler (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Navy on board the USS San Francisco in the Solomon Islands, recognition of actions during a battle off Savo Island, November 12–13, 1942. Keppler is buried in Section C, Site 379.
Major Charles J. Liteky (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, for actions near Phuoc-Lac, Bien Hoa Province, Republic of Vietnam, December 6, 1967. His citation was awarded under the name of Angelo J. Liteky, issued in 1969. He left his medal at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, in protest of U.S. policies in Central America. Liteky died in 2017 and is buried with his wife Judy (1942–2016) in Section CF, Site 362.
Seaman Hugh Patrick Mullin. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Texas for the rescue of a shipmate from drowning while the vessel was in Hampton Roads, VA, November 11, 1899. Mullin died in 1948 and is buried in Section A, Site 294.
Private First Class Stuart S. Stryker (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company E, 513th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne Division, in recognition of intrepidity and unhesitating self-sacrifice near Wesel, Germany, March 24, 1945. Stryker is buried in Section B, Site 719.
Corporal Robert H. Young (Korea). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company E., 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in recognition of instinctive leadership that influenced the conduct of his company and its success north of Kaesong, Korea, October 9, 1950. Young died in November and is buried in Section O, Site 8.
Other Burials
First Lieutenant Aurelious P. Alberga was one of the first black Army officers in World War I. He trained at Fort Des Moines, IA, the only facility for black officers. He was acting captain of Company A, 365th Infantry, responsible for the organization of recreational activities for his barracks. Following the war he helped establish the Booker T. Washington Community Center in San Francisco, aimed at improving the lives of African American youth in the city, and helped found the Northern California branch of the NAACP. Alberga died September 22, 1988, and is buried in Section CB, Site 618.
Andrew Calleditto, a native of New Mexico, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 30, 1942. PFC Calleditto was a Navajo Code Talker in the Pacific Theater during World War II and he served through November 24, 1945. In 2001, the Navajo Code Talkers were presented with the Congressional Silver Medal. Calleditto's honor was posthumous. He died August 3, 1946 (Section H, Site 2074).
David Curley, a native of New Mexico, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 5, 1942. PFC Curley was a Navajo Code Talker in the Pacific Theater during World War II and served until March 20, 1945. Curley was one of the twenty-nine original Navajo Code Talkers who developed a secret code devised from the Navajo language to transmit messages for the USMC. He was also among the first of the Navajo Code Talkers to see action. In July 2001, the original Navajo Code Talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal. Curley's honor was posthumous. He died in 1979 (Section 2B, Site 1734).
John Doolie, a native of New Mexico, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on March 26, 1943. Cpl. Doolie was a Navajo Code Talker in the Pacific Theater during World War II and served until January 1946. In 2001, the Navajo Code Talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal. Doolie's honor was posthumous. He died on December 31, 1947 (Section I, Site 5307).
Robert Bradford Marshall was born May 22, 1867, in Amelia County, Virginia. He entered the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a topographer in 1889, became Geographer of the Pacific in 1907, and Chief Geographer USGS in 1910. Marshall became a close friend of conservationist John Muir and he mapped Yosemite National Park and many of the high peaks of the Sierras. He was appointed Superintendent of National Parks in 1915 (the second, and last, to hold this position before the establishment of the National Park Service and position of Director) until resuming the role of Chief Geographer in 1917. From February 1917 through March 1919, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army. In this office he was responsible for all military mapmaking done by the USGS. Marshall resigned from the government in 1919 and devoted himself to developing the "Marshall Plan of Irrigation and Water Control of the Central Valley of California"—a plan to store the rainwater of southern California. Marshall battled for nearly three decades to prove his plan was feasible. He retired in 1937. He died June 21, 1949, just before the completion of the Shasta Dam, one of the key features of his Central Valley Project (Section G, Site 2147-B).
One of America's most valiant naval officers—Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz—is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. A number of distinguished officers who served under him are also buried here. Nimitz served as a fleet admiral in the U.S. Navy and assumed command of the Pacific Fleet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the country into World War II. In 1942 Adm. Nimitz went on the offensive, leading to the decisive Battle of Midway. From there, he led successive campaigns—Guadalcanal, New Guinea—that eventually broke the Japanese hold on the South Pacific. In September 1945 Adm. Nimitz represented the United States during the surrender of Japan on board the USS Missouri. Nimitz died February 20, 1966 (Section C, Row C-1, Site 1).
The 44 German and Italian prisoners of war interred at Golden Gate National Cemetery were captured in North Africa after the 1943 collapse of the German Africa Corps, led by Lt. Gen. Erwin Rommel. The POWs were housed at Camp Beale and Camp Cook in California, and Camp Rupert in Idaho. They were originally buried at their respective post cemeteries. When the posts closed, the POWs were re-interred at Golden Gate (Section E).
Oliver Wellington Sipple (Vietnam). Sipple was born in Detroit in 1941 and was a decorated Marine disabled in the Vietnam War. He is most known for intervening in an assassination attempt against President Gerald Ford in San Francisco on September 22, 1975. Following the assassination attempt, Sipple gained national attention and it was revealed that he was a homosexual. Though active in the LGBTQ community in San Francisco, Sipple had kept his sexual orientation secret to his family and employers and did not desire his private life to be made public. He lost a lawsuit against several media outlets for violation of privacy. While Sipple became a sort of hero in the gay rights movement, the unwanted attention had detrimental effects on him personally. He was discovered dead in his apartment on February 2, 1989, only 47 years old.
In addition, 26 African-American sailors who perished as a result of an explosion while loading Liberty ships at Port Chicago, California, on July 17, 1944, are buried here. Their remains were unidentifiable, so they are buried as unknowns (Sections H and L).
We are developing educational content for this national cemetery, and will post new materials as they become available. Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
