National Cemetery Administration
San Francisco National Cemetery
Visitation Hours: Open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Office Hours: Contact the Golden Gate National Cemetery Administrative Office 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
San Francisco 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 Northern section of San Francisco. From San Francisco International Airport, take Hwy. 101 North to San Bruno/Hwy. 380 exit to Hwy. 280 North.
Follow 19th Avenue/Park Presidio Blvd. north, turn right onto California St. Turn left onto Arguello Blvd. which leads onto the Presidio. Turn left onto Sheridan Ave., then enter the cemetery main gate on left at the intersection of Sheridan Ave. and Lincoln Blvd.
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.
Under Development.
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.
When Spain colonized what would become California, this area was selected as the site for a fort, or presidio, to defend San Francisco Bay. About 40 families traveled here from northern Mexico in 1776 and built the first settlement, a small quadrangle, only a few hundred feet west of what is now Funston Avenue. Mexico controlled the Presidio following 1821, but the fort became increasingly less important to the Mexican government. In 1835, most soldiers and their families moved north to Sonoma, leaving it nearly abandoned. During the Mexican War, U.S. troops occupied and repaired the damage to the fort.
The mid-century discovery of gold in California led to the sudden growth and importance of San Francisco, and prompted the U.S. government to establish a military reservation here. By executive order, President Millard Fillmore established the Presidio for military use in November 1850. During the 1850s and 1860s, Presidio-based soldiers fought Native Americans in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 re-emphasized the importance of California's riches and the military significance of San Francisco's harbor to the Union. This led, in 1862, to the first major construction and expansion program at the Presidio since the United States acquired it.
The Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s resulted in additional expansion of the Presidio, including large-scale tree planting and a post beautification program. By the following decade the Presidio had shed its frontier outpost appearance and was elevated to a major military installation and base for American expansion into the Pacific.
In 1890, with the creation of Sequoia, General Grant and Yosemite national parks in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, the protection of these scenic and natural resources was assigned to the U.S. cavalry stationed at the Presidio. Soldiers patrolled these parks during summer months until the start of World War I in 1914. The Spanish American War in 1898 and subsequent Philippine-American War, from 1899 to 1902, increased the role of the Presidio. Thousands of troops camped in tent cities while awaiting shipment to the Philippines. Returning sick and wounded soldiers were treated in the Army's first permanent hospital, later renamed Letterman Army General Hospital. In 1914, troops under the command of Gen. John Pershing departed the Presidio for the Mexican border in pursuit of Pancho Villa and his men. When World War I began, Pershing became commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe.
When the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Presidio soldiers dug foxholes along the nearby beaches. Fourth Army Commander Gen. John L. DeWitt conducted the internment of thousands of Japanese and Japanese-Americans on the West Coast while U.S. soldiers of Japanese descent were trained to read and speak Japanese at the first Military Intelligence Service language school organized at Crissy Field. During the 1950s, the Presidio served as the headquarters for the Nike missile defense program and headquarters for the famed Sixth U.S. Army. The Presidio of San Francisco, encompassing more than 350 buildings with historic value, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. In 1989, the Presidio closed as a military entity and was transferred to the National Park Service in October 1994.
On Dec. 12, 1884, the War Department designated nine acres, including the site of the old post cemetery, as San Francisco National Cemetery. It was the first national cemetery established on the West Coast and, as such, marks the growth and development of a system of national cemeteries extending beyond the battlefields of the Civil War. Initial interments included the remains of the dead from the former post cemetery as well as individuals removed from cemeteries at abandoned forts and camps elsewhere along the Pacific coast and western frontier. In 1934, all unknown remains in the cemetery were disinterred and reinterred in one plot. Many soldiers and sailors who died overseas serving in the Philippines, China and other areas of the Pacific Theater are interred in San Francisco National Cemetery.
The cemetery is enclosed with a stone wall and slopes down a hill that today frames a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Its original ornamental cast-iron entrance gates are present but have been unused since the entrance was relocated. Tall eucalyptus trees further enclose the cemetery. The lodge and rostrum date to the 1920s and reflect the Spanish Revival styling introduced to several western cemeteries.
Two unusual interments at San Francisco National Cemetery are "Major" Pauline Cushman and Miss Sarah A. Bowman. Cushman's headstone bears the inscription "Pauline C. Fryer, Union Spy," but her real name was Harriet Wood. Born in the 1830s, she became a performer in Thomas Placide's show Varieties and took the name Pauline Cushman. She married theater musician Charles Dickinson in 1853, but after her husband died of illness related to his service for Union forces, she returned to the stage. During spring 1863, while performing in Louisville, Ky., she was asked by the provost marshal to gather information regarding local Confederate activity. From there she was sent to Nashville, where she had some success conveying information about troop strength and movements. In Nashville, she was also captured and nearly hanged as a spy. She returned to the stage in 1864, to lecture and sell her autobiography. Entertainer P.T. Barnum promoted her as the "Spy of the Cumberland" and through Barnum's practiced boostership she quickly gained fleeting fame. After spending the 1870s working the redwood logging camps, she remarried and moved to the Arizona Territory. By 1893 she was divorced, destitute and desperate; she applied for her first husband's military pension and returned to San Francisco, where she died from an overdose of narcotics allegedly taken to soothe her rheumatism. Members of the Grand Army of the Republic and Women's Relief Corps conducted a magnificent funeral for the former spy. "Major" Cushman's remains reside in Officer's Circle.
Also buried at San Francisco National Cemetery is Sarah Bowman, also known as "Great Western," a formidable woman over 6 feet tall with red hair and a fondness for wearing pistols. Married to a soldier, she traveled with Zachary Taylor's troops in the Mexican War helping to care for the wounded, for which she earned a government pension. After her husband's death she had a variety of male companions and ran an infamous tavern and brothel in El Paso, Texas. Bowman left El Paso when she married her last husband. The two ended up at Fort Yuma, where she operated a boarding house until her death from a spider bite in 1866. She was given a full military funeral and was buried in the Fort Yuma Cemetery. Several years later her body was exhumed and reburied at San Francisco National Cemetery.
San Francisco National Cemetery was listed as a National Historic Landmark as part of the Presidio in 1962.
Monuments and Memorials
The Pacific Coast Garrison Monument was dedicated as part of a Memorial Day program 1897 that drew an estimated 10,000 participants and observers. It honors the Regular Army & Navy Union, a veterans organization founded in 1886 to support national defense. At more than 17 feet tall, the Union color bearer standing on a base is among the few NCA monuments made of cast zinc ("white-bronze"). These are assembled from cast panels joined with solder, screws, and an internal fastening system. Typically unpainted like this one, the zinc oxidizes to a blue-gray color that resembles stone. Such statues were sold through catalogs with different design elements; fifteen figures similar to this one are found in the United States.
Grand Army of the Republic Memorial (1893)
Monument to Marines who died at the Tartar Wall in Pakia, China (1900)
Unknown Dead Monument (1934)
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:
Second Lieutenant William Allen (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 23rd U.S. Infantry, for actions at Turret Mountain, Arizona Territory, March 27, 1873. Allen died in 1892 and is buried in Section OS, Row 48, Site 2.
Signal Quartermaster Matthew Arthur (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions on board the USS Carondelet at the reduction of Forts Henry and Donelson, February 6 and 14, 1862. His citation was awarded under the name of Arther. Arthur died in 1899 and is buried in Section OS, Row 16, Site 1.
Commander William Badders. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions during the rescue and salvage operations after the sinking of the USS Squalus, May 13, 1939. Badders died in 1986 and is buried in Section A, Site 788-A.
Lieutenant Colonel James Coey (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 147th New York Infantry, for actions at Hatcher's Run, VA, February 6, 1865. Coey died in 1918 and is buried in Section OS, Row 89, Site 1.
Sergeant James Congdon Madison (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company E, 8th New York Cavalry, for actions at Waynesboro, VA, March 2, 1865. While his real name was James Madison, he served under the alias James Congdon during the war and the citation was awarded in that name. He maintained Congdon as part of his name for the remainder of his life. He died in 1926 and is buried in Section OSA, Row 15, Site 7.
Colonel Matthias W. Day (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 9th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at Las Animas Canyon, New Mexico Territory, September 18, 1879. Day died in 1927 and is buried in Section OS, Row 11, Site 2.
Major General William F. Dean (Korea). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 24th Infantry Division, for actions in Taejon, Korea, July 20–21, 1950. Dean died in 1981 and is buried in Section GHT, Site 353-B.
Captain Reginald B. Desiderio (Korea). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company E, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in recognition of leadership and complete disregard for personal safety in the defense of a post near Ipsok, Korea, November 27, 1950. Desiderio was killed that day and is buried in Section OS, Row 128, Site 20.
Lieutenant Commander Abraham DeSomer (Mexican Campaign). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Utah for actions during the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico, April 21–22, 1914. DeSomer died in 1974 and is memorialized in Section MA, Site 15.
Colonel Kern W. Dunagan (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion, 46 Infantry, for his actions in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam, May 13, 1969. Dunagan died in 1991 and is buried in Section WS, Site 117-I.
Sergeant William Foster (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company F, 4th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at Red River, TX, September 29, 1872. Foster died in 1880 and is buried in Section WS, Site 197.
Major General Frederick Funston, Sr. (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, for actions at Rio Grande de la Pampanga, Luzon, Philippine Islands, April 27, 1899. Funston died in 1917 and is buried in Section OS, Row 68, Site 3.
Seaman Rade Grbitch. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Bennington for extraordinary heroism when a boiler exploded on the vessel at San Diego, CA, July 21, 1905. He died in 1910 and is buried in Section A, Site 44.
Brigadier General Oliver D. Greene (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army for actions at Antietam, MD, September 17, 1862. Greene died in 1904 and is buried in Section OS, Row 49, Site 8.
Colonel John Chowning Gresham (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 7th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at Wounded Knee Creek, SD, December 29, 1890. Gresham died in 1926 and is buried in Section OS, Row 4-A, Site 5.
Apprentice John Hayden (Peacetime). He received the Medal of Honor as an apprentice on board the training ship USS Saratoga (Sloop-of-War). On July 15, 1879, in New York Harbor, Hayden jumped overboard to save the lives of two shipmates—one who had fallen overboard, and the other his attempted rescuer. He is buried in Section C, Site 754.
Chief Carpenter's Mate Franz Anton Itrich (Spanish-American War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Petrel for actions at Manila, Philippine Islands, May 1, 1898. Itrich died in 1933 and is buried in Section OSA, Row 83, Site 5.
Staff Sergeant Robert S. Kennemore (Korea). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, for actions north of Yudam-ni, Korea, November 27–28, 1950. Kennemore died in 1989 and is buried in Section H, Site CA-404.
Sergeant John Sterling Lawton (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company D, 5th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at Milk River, CO, September 29, 1879. Lawton died in 1909 and is buried in Section NAWS, Site 1392.
Private Cornelius J. Leahy (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 36th Infantry, for actions near Porac, Luzon, Philippine Islands, September 3, 1899. Leahy died in December 1900 and is buried in Section NA, Site 970.
First Sergeant John Mitchell (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 5th U.S. Infantry, for actions at Upper Washita, TX, September 9–11, 1874. Mitchell died in 1904 and is buried in Section NAWS, Site 411.
First Sergeant Albert Moore (Boxer Rebellion). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for actions during the battle of Peking, China, July 21–August 17, 1900. Moore died in 1916 and is buried in Section WS, Site 1032-A.
First Lieutenant Louis Clinton Mosher (Philippine Insurrection). Mosher received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Philippine Scouts, for actions at Gagsak Mountain, Jolo, Philippine Islands, June 11, 1913. Mosher died in 1958 and is buried in Section NA, Site 1408.
Corporal Adam Neder (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 7th U.S. Cavalry, for actions during the Sioux Campaign, December 1890. Neder died in 1910 and is buried in Section NAWS, Site 1805.
Major William R. Parnell (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 1st U.S. Cavalry, for actions at White Bird Canyon, Idaho Territory, June 17, 1877. Parnell died in 1910 and is buried in Section OS, Row 68, Site 8.
Sergeant Reuben Jasper Phillips (Boxer Rebellion). He served the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for actions with the China Relief Expedition in the battles of June 13, 20–22, 1900. Phillips died in 1936 and is buried in Section OSD, Site 3.
Master Gunner Norman W. Ressler (Spanish-American War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company D, 17th U.S. Infantry, for actions at El Caney, Cuba, July 1, 1898. Ressler died in 1914 and is buried in Section WS, Site 134-A.
Private George F. Rock. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy under the name George F. Brock. Brock was a carpenter's mate on board the USS Bennington and was recognized for extraordinary heroism when a boiler exploded on the vessel at San Diego, CA, July 21, 1905. Previously, Rock served in the U.S. Army, Company I, 13th Minnesota Infantry, during the Spanish-American War. He died in 1914 and is buried in Section WS, Site 129-A.
Chief Warrant Officer Lloyd Martin Seibert (World War I). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company F, 364th Infantry, 91st Division, for actions near Epinonville, France, September 26, 1918. Seibert died in 1972 and is buried in Section OS, Row 128, Site 10.
Major General William Rufus Shafter (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry, for actions at Fair Oaks, VA, May 31, 1862. Shafter died in 1906 and is buried in Section OS, Row 30, Site 3.
Major George Matthew Shelton, Sr. (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 23rd U.S. Infantry, for actions at La Paz, Leyte, Philippine Islands, April 26, 1900. Shelton died in 1949 and is buried in Section OSD, Site 799.
Chief Gunner's Mate Andrew V. Stoltenberg (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions during the battle of Katbalogan, Samar, Philippine Islands, July 16, 1900. Stoltenberg died in 1921 and is buried in Section A, Site 242.
Sergeant Bernard Taylor (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 5th U.S. Cavalry, for the rescue of a comrade near Sunset Pass, Arizona Territory, November 1, 1874. Taylor died in 1875 and is buried in Section WS, Site 1090.
Coxswain Karl Thomas (Boxer Rebellion). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions with the China Relief Expedition in the battles of June 13, 20–22, 1900. He died in July 1900 and is buried in Section NA, Site 369.
Sergeant William H. Thompkins (Spanish-American War). William H. Thompkins was born in 1872 at Paterson, NJ. By June 1898, Private Thompkins had enlisted in the U.S. Army's 10th Cavalry and was serving in Cuba. At Tayabacoa, he led an effort to rescue stranded troops and for his actions, Thompkins was awarded the Medal of Honor. He died on September 30, 1916, and is buried in Section WS, Site 1036-A.
Captain Charles A. Varnum (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry, for actions at White Clay Creek, SD, December 30, 1890. Varnum died in 1936 and is buried in Section OS, Row 3-A, Site 3.
Lieutenant Colonel George W. Wallace (Philippine Insurrection). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 9th U.S. Infantry, for actions at Tinuba, Luzon, Philippine Islands, March 4, 1900. Wallace died in 1946 and is buried in Section OS, Row 39A, Site 1.
Gunmate First Class Axel Westermark (Boxer Rebellion). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions in the battle of Peking, China, June 28–August 17, 1900. Westermark died in 1911 and is buried in Section A, Site 32.
Sergeant William Wilson (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor twice while serving in the U.S. Army, Company I, 4th U.S. Cavalry: first for actions at Colorado Valley, TX, on March 28, 1872, and second for distinguished conduct at Red River, TX, September 29, 1872. Wilson died in 1895 and is buried in Section WS, Site 527.
Private Joseph Witcome (Indian Wars). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company B, 8th U.S. Cavalry, for actions in the Arizona Territory, from August to October 1868. Witcome died in 1869 and is buried in Section WS, Site 1102.
Other Burials
On December 7, 1941, First Lt. Annie Fox was stationed at Hickam Field adjacent to the naval base at Pearl Harbor, HI. She was the chief nurse, and became the first woman to receive the Purple Heart in 1942 for "outstanding performance of duty" during the attacks. Her "calmness, courage and leadership was of great benefit to the morale of all with whom she came in contact." Initially reserved for bravery in action, today the Purple Heart is awarded to those injured or killed in combat. This criteria change was made during World War II, so in 1944 the Army rescinded her Purple Heart and replaced it with the Bronze Star. Fox enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in 1918 and retired from military service in 1945. She died in 1987 (Section A, Site 657-A).
Fred Rover (1887–1960) was born in France and his father, glassmaker Eugene Rouvier, emigrated to the United States with the family in the early 1900s. Fred Rover was also a glassmaker by the time he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1909. He served in 1st Infantry during World War I and retired with the rank of master sergeant in 1935; the same year he became a naturalized citizen. Rover then embarked upon a second career as civilian employee of the Quartermaster. He held the position of superintendent at national cemeteries at Camp Nelson (KY), Springfield (IL), and Camp Butler (IL). Rover moved to California in the late 1950s and died December 2. He is buried in San Francisco National Cemetery (Section B, Site 60-A).
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 San Francisco National Cemetery.
Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
