The United States Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium is a cemetery at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
History
In 1868 the Naval Academy purchased a 67-acre piece of land called Strawberry Hill as part of their efforts to expand after the American Civil War. Within a year of its acquisition part of the property became the cemetery. Since its beginning the cemetery has become the final resting place for Medal of Honor recipients, Superintendents of the Naval Academy, Midshipmen, and former employees of the Academy and hundreds more of the nation's veterans.
The cemetery is also home to monuments that do not mark remains, but commemorate the heroism of individuals who gave their life in service to their country. The Jeannette Monument, erected in 1890, is the most notable such monument. It was built in memory of the men who lost their lives in the Jeannette Arctic Expedition.
Columbarium
In 1987, the Naval Academy constructed a columbarium adjacent to the cemetery on College Creek. The columbarium was built by the Naval Academy Alumni Association and principally sponsored by the Class of 1959 with $500,000 in gifts from alumni and friends of the Academy. This included a major grant from the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation in memory of Jerauld L. Olmsted, Class of 1922. The columbarium offers resting places for Graduates who wish to be inurned at the Naval Academy.
The columbarium is approximately 160 feet long and six feet high on a three-tiered pedestal. All exterior surfaces are white marble. Each niche front is removable by a special key. Niches are assigned in consecutive order and cannot be reserved in advance.
In front of the columbarium stands a memorial donated by the Class of 1937 in honor of the academy graduates who died in the line of duty and whose bodies were never recovered.
Notable burials
Vice Admiral Bernard L. Austin (1902–1979) Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. (1918–2002) Vice Admiral Donald B. Beary (1888–1966) Lieutenant Commander Wesley Brown (1927–2012) Admiral Arleigh A. Burke (1901–1996) Lieutenant General Henry W. Buse Jr., USMC, (1912–1988) Major General John P. Condon, USMC, (1911–1996) Admiral William J. Crowe (1925–2007) Commander William B. Cushing (1842–1874) Lieutenant Commander George Washington DeLong (1844–1881) Rear Admiral George J. Dufek (1903–1977) Ensign John R. Elliott (1977–2000) Commander Theodore Gordon Ellyson (1885–1928) Rear Admiral Wilson F. Flagg (1938–2001) Major General Ben Hebard Fuller (1870–1937) Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi (1832–1903) Lieutenant General George F. Good Jr., USMC, (1901–1991) Rear Admiral Harold Hauser (1897–1981) Admiral James L. Holloway III (1922–2019) Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (1878–1956) Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen (1972-2005) Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary (1885–1957) Vice Admiral Julien J. LeBourgeois (1923–2012) Captain Robert F. R. Lewis (1826–1881) Rear Admiral Charles Elliott Loughlin (1910–1989) Senator and Captain John McCain (1936–2018) Captain Bruce McCandless II (1937–2017) Rear Admiral Clarence Wade McClusky (1902–1976) Rear Admiral John Porter Merrell (1846–1916) Major General Charles D. Mize (1921–1998) Rear Admiral Edward J. O’Donnell (1907–1991) Commodore James Philips Parker (1855–1942) Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston (1840–1865) Admiral Joseph M. Reeves (1872–1948) Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl (1889–1969) Vice Admiral Herbert D. Riley (1904–1973) Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC, (1939–2008) Rear Admiral Thomas H. Robbins, Jr. (1900–1972) Rear Admiral Paul Wilhelm Steinhagen (1897–1968) Lieutenant Stephen Spencer Toth (1939-1967) Rear Admiral Charles J. Train (1845–1906) Admiral Stansfield Turner (1923–2018) Lieutenant General Pedro Augusto del Valle, USMC, (1893–1978) Captain Jesse Wallace (1899–1961) Admiral Earl P. Yates (1923-2021) Bandmaster Charles A. Zimmerman (1861–1916)
Medal of Honor recipients
Thomas Calvin Cooney (1853–1907) Eugene B. Fluckey (1913–2007) Thomas Jones (1820–1892) Isaac Campbell Kidd (1884–1941) Bruce McCandless (1911–1968) Frederick Vallette McNair (1882–1962) Daniel Montague (1867–1912) Robert Sommers (1837–1919) James Bond Stockdale (1923–2005) William Peterkin Upshur, USMC, (1881–1943) Richard Wainwright, Jr. (1881–1944)
Superintendents of USNA
James L. Holloway, Jr. (1898–1984) Charles Turner Joy (1895–1956) Draper Laurence Kauffman (1911–1979) Charles Cochran Kirkpatrick (1907–1988) Charles R. Larson (1936–2014) William P. Lawrence (1930–2005) William P. Mack (1915–2003) Ronald F. Marryott (1934–2005) Vice Admiral Charles L. Melson (1904–1981) Charles Stamps Minter (1915–2008) Louis M. Nulton (1869–1954)