Quantico National Cemetery

Quantico National Cemetery
Details
Quantico National Cemetery on Veterans' Day.
Established	1983
Location	Quantico, Virginia
Country	United States
Coordinates	38°32′36″N 77°21′53″W / 38.54333°N 77.36472°W / 38.54333; -77.36472Coordinates: 38°32′36″N 77°21′53″W / 38.54333°N 77.36472°W / 38.54333; -77.36472
Type	United States National Cemetery
Size	725 acres (293 ha)
Website	Official
Find a Grave	Quantico National Cemetery

Quantico National Cemetery is a national cemetery in Triangle, Virginia for veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. Adjacent to and originally part of Marine Corps Base Quantico, it was established as a national cemetery in 1983 with an area of 725 acres (293 ha).

Location

Quantico National Cemetery is located on land that was part of the U.S. Marine Corps training base adjacent to Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia. The land has been used by the military for over 200 years. First, around 1775 by the Commonwealth of Virginia for Navy operations, and later, as a blockade point for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

In 1918 a permanent Marine base was established at Quantico. The Marine Corps Schools, a forerunner of the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, was created there in 1921. Since 1941, the focus of the base has been individual education rather than unit training. In 1977, the Marine Corps donated 725 acres (2.9 km²) of this land to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, to establish a facility at Quantico. The cemetery was formally dedicated on May 15, 1983.^[1]

Volunteers with the Sgt. Mac Foundation placed wreaths on 2,200 graves at Quantico National Cemetery on December 6, 2008 to honor interred service members

Monuments and memorials

There are seven memorials in all. A monument to Edson’s Raiders was the first memorial dedicated at Quantico National Cemetery, unveiled on the memorial pathway on August 6, 1989. It is dedicated to the 800 members of the First Marine Raider Battalion, which from August 1942 to October 1943, played a key role in helping the greatly outnumbered American forces push back Japanese troops in the British Solomon Islands.

The Purple Heart Memorial was dedicated August 7, 1990, in honor of Purple Heart medal recipients interred at the cemetery. The Purple Heart was created by General George Washington in 1782 and was originally awarded for heroism. It eventually fell into disuse until 1931 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur revived it for soldiers who were wounded or killed in defense of their nation.

Additional memorials honor: the Fourth Marine or “Fighting Fourth” Division; the Commonwealth of Virginia Memorial dedicated to honor all of the nation’s veterans; the First Marine Division Memorial; and the 6th Marine Division or “Striking Sixth” Memorial to honor the division that won the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II; the memorial design is based on an Okinawan tomb.^[2]

Notable burials

Captain Frederick C. Branch (1922–2005), first African-American officer of the Marine Corps
John Cephas (1930–2009), blues guitarist and singer, served with the US Army in the Korean War
Charles Colson (1931–2012), Watergate figure and later Evangelical Christian leader; served as a USMC Captain in the Korean War
Colonel William "Rich" Higgins (1945–1990), was captured by a pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim group in February 1988 in Beirut while serving as chief of a UN observer group. His kidnappers killed him in July 1990. A cenotaph was erected until his body was repatriated in 1991.
Chuck Hinton (1934–2013), Major League Baseball player; served in the US Army
Louis R. Lowery (1916–1987), a World War II Marine combat photographer, took the picture of the first U.S. flag rising on top of Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi in 1945.
Matthew G. Martínez (1929–2011), US Representative; served with the US Marine Corps
Eugene M. Stoner (1922–1997), engineer and firearm designer who developed the AR-15; served as a USMC Corporal in World War II
Leon Uris (1924–2003), American novelist and USMC PFC in World War II. His novel Battle Cry was based on his experiences.
General Lewis W. Walt (1913–1989), Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1968–1971; interred with his wife Nancy (1917–2000), an Army Nurse during WWII.^[3]

References

↑ "Cemeteries - Quantico National Cemetery". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
↑ Striking Sixth - 6th Marine Division - World War II Memorials
↑ Official Biography of Lewis W. Walt.

External links

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah

National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS

National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP

National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VA Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown

National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway George Washington Memorial Parkway

National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT

National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island

National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson

USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area

Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts

Wilderness Areas	Mountain Lake Wilderness Ramseys Draft Wilderness Rough Mountain Wilderness Saint Mary's Wilderness

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Biscuit Run Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Plantation Claytor Lake Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Mason Neck Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Sailor's Creek Battlefield Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Wilderness Road York River

State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Chilton Woods Conway-Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point Whitney Zoar

Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlars Hill Pinnacle Poor Mountain Red Rock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island

Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mockhorn Island Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Saxis Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks

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