Prominent Military Figures
The following individuals are historically significant primarily for their military leadership and service. However, this is not an exhaustive list. Those profiled in other Notable Graves categories (click on the links at left) also served honorably in the U.S. armed forces, or were the spouses or children of service members. They are listed in other categories because of their historical significance in those areas.
Medal of Honor recipients are indicated below with an asterisk.* Two-time Medal of Honor recipients are indicated with two asterisks.**
Section 1
Lt. Col. Alexander T. Augusta, U.S. Army (1825–1890) — Augusta was a pioneering doctor and the highest-ranking Black officer of the Civil War, promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel in 1865. Commissioned as a major, he served as regimental surgeon of the 7th Infantry, United States Colored Troops. After the war, Dr. Augusta became a founding faculty member of the Howard University Medical Department. (Section 1, Grave 124-C)
**Maj. Louis Cukela, U.S. Marine Corps (1888–1956) — Born in Croatia, Cukela emigrated to the United States in 1913 and enlisted in the Army a year later. He joined the Marine Corps in 1917. One of only 19 two-time Medal of Honor recipients, Cukela was awarded both the Navy and Army Medals of Honor for extraordinary heroism in France during World War I. (Section 1, Grave 427-A)
Capt. Edward P. Doherty, U.S. Army (1840–1897) — An officer in the 16th New York Cavalry, this Civil War veteran pursued and captured John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, in late April 1865. (Section 1, Grave 690)
Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday, U.S. Army (1819–1893) — Contrary to popular myth, Doubleday did not invent baseball, but he did fire the Union's first cannon shot in the Civil War. A West Point graduate, he fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and in conflicts with American Indians during the 1850s. By 1861, he had become second-in-command of the U.S. Army's garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina — which secessionist forces attacked on the morning of April 12, 1861, thus beginning the Civil War. Doubleday commanded troops in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg. (Section 1, Grave 61)
*Maj. Gen. Adolphus W. Greely, U.S. Army (1844–1935) — Greely was a career Army officer and Arctic explorer. During the Civil War, he commanded the 81st Regiment, United States Colored Infantry. He spent most of his Army career with the Signal Corps, supervising the construction of telegraph lines, conducting meteorological research and helping to establish the Weather Bureau. From 1881 to 1884, Greely led an expedition to the Arctic Circle, and survived two Arctic winters without being resupplied. After retiring, he co-founded the National Geographic Society. On March 27, 1935, his 91st birthday, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. (Section 1, Grave 129)
Cpl. Isaiah Mays, U.S. Army (1858–1925) — Isaiah Mays was one of 18 Black soldiers to earn the Medal of Honor for their service during the "Indian Wars" of the late 19th century. Mays, who was born into slavery, became a corporal in Company B of the 24th Infantry Regiment, stationed in the Arizona Territory. He received the Medal of Honor for heroic action during the so-called "Wham Paymaster Robbery" of 1889, in which Mays fought bandits who had robbed the Army paymaster. After decades in an unremarkable Arizona grave, Mays' remains were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009. (Section 1, Grave 630-B)
Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, U.S. Army (1864–1940) — McGee received her medical degree from Columbian College (now George Washington University) in 1892. Her organizing ability led to her appointment, during the Spanish-American War of 1898, as acting assistant surgeon in the Army, placed in charge of the Army's nurses. She strongly advocated a permanent nursing corps, and in 1901 Congress authorized the creation of the Army Nurse Corps. Dr. McGee also led efforts to erect the Spanish-American War Nurses Monument at Arlington National Cemetery, dedicated in 1905. (Section 1, Grave 526B)
Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, U.S. Army (1816–1892) — As quartermaster general of the Army during the Civil War, Meigs directed the establishment of Arlington National Cemetery. A West Point graduate, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supervising several important prewar projects in Washington, D.C. — including the Washington Aqueduct and the construction of the wings and dome of the U.S. Capitol. In May 1861, shortly after the Civil War began, Meigs was appointed to quartermaster general, charged with managing Army logistics. In this capacity, he oversaw military burials, and in May 1864 he designated part of Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis Lee's former estate, now occupied by Union troops, as an Army cemetery. His wife, Louisa Meigs, was the first person to be buried, in 1879, in the family's plot off of Meigs Drive; Montgomery Meigs joined her in January 1892, following a full military honors funeral at the cemetery he had helped to create. (Section 1, Grave 1-EH)
*Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, U.S. Army (1883–1953) — When the Philippines fell to Japan on April 9, 1942, Wainwright — senior commander of U.S. forces there — and thousands of others escaped to the island of Corregidor, where they hid for a month. Facing the prospect of a Japanese attack, and running out of food and other supplies, Wainwright reluctantly surrendered the island to the Japanese on May 6, 1942. He and the remaining others were forced to endure the Bataan Death March to Japanese prison camps. More than three years later, in August 1945, Wainwright was released from a liberated prisoner-of-war camp; he had been Japan's highest-ranking American prisoner. Called "The Hero of Bataan and Corregidor," he received a Medal of Honor for his efforts to defend his men. (Section 1, Grave 358)
Capt. O.S.B. Wall, U.S. Army (1825–1891) — Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall, the son of a plantation owner and an enslaved woman, was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Civil War — one of the first African Americans to achieve that rank, and one of approximately 100 African American officers who served in the war. He later received a law degree from Howard University, became Washington, D.C.'s first Black justice of the peace and was elected twice to the city's legislative assembly. (Section 1, Grave 124-B)
Section 2
*Rear Adm. Richard Byrd, U.S. Navy (1888–1957) — An Arctic explorer and naval aviator, Byrd was the first person to fly over both poles of the Earth, reaching the North Pole in 1926 and the South Pole in 1929. He and pilot Floyd Bennett (Section 3, Grave 1852) each received a Medal of Honor for their North Pole flight. Congress promoted Byrd to rear admiral (retired) after his South Pole expedition. Byrd continued exploring Antarctica throughout his life; he was 67 years old at the time of his last expedition, in 1955. (Section 2, Grave 4969)
Gen. Claire L. Chennault, U.S. Air Force (1893–1958) — Claire Chennault earned his wings during World War I and went to China in 1937, shortly after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, to help train the Chinese Air Force. In 1940, he organized a group of volunteer American aviators, known as the "Flying Tigers," to assist the Chinese Air Force against the Japanese. The Flying Tigers were incorporated into the 14th Air Force after the United States entered the war. Chennault also played a leading role in developing civil air transport in China. (Section 2, Grave 873-3-4)
Maj. Gen. John L. Clem, U.S. Army (1851–1937) — In May 1861, when President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to join the Union Army, 10-year-old Johnny Clem tried to enlist in an Ohio regiment. He was turned away as too young, but he had better luck in Michigan, where the 22nd Infantry Regiment accepted him as a drummer boy. He officially enlisted in 1863, at 12 years old. During the Battle of Chickamauga, he shot a Confederate officer who was ridiculing his diminutive stature. Promoted to sergeant, the "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga" became the youngest soldier ever to become a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army. When he retired on the eve of U.S. entry into World War I, at the rank of major general, Clem was the last Civil War veteran actively serving in the Army. (Section 2, Grave 933)
Maj. Gen. George Crook, U.S. Army (1830–1890) — Crook was a career Army officer who fought in the Civil War and the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s. In his last campaign, Crook persistently but unsuccessfully pursued the Apache leader Geronimo. (Section 2, Grave 974)
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr., U.S. Army (1877–1970) — The first Black general in the U.S. military, Benjamin O. Davis volunteered in the Spanish-American War (1898) and then enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army's 9th Cavalry Regiment. He served in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War in 1901-1902, and then as a military attache in Liberia — postings which ensured that Davis would not command white troops. He also taught military science at Wilberforce University and Tuskegee Institute, both historically Black universities. Meanwhile, Davis rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant colonel in 1920 and a colonel in 1930, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted him to brigadier general in 1940. During World War II, as an assistant to the Army's Office of the Inspector General, Brig. Gen. Davis advised the U.S. government on race relations within the military. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star. (Section 2, Grave E-478-B)
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., U.S. Air Force (1912–2002) — The son of Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr., Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force. A 1936 graduate of West Point, he was among the first group of African Americans admitted to the U.S. Army Air Corps. During World War II, he commanded the 99th Pursuit Squadron — the first all-Black American air unit, which flew tactical support missions in the Mediterranean theater — and the 332nd Fighter Group, more famously known as the Tuskegee Airmen. After President Harry S. Truman desegregated the armed forces by executive order in July 1948, Davis helped draft a plan to implement the order. Davis commanded a fighter wing in the Korean War and was promoted to brigadier general in 1954. During the 1950s and 1960s, he held major Air Force command posts in Asia, Europe and the United States. Advanced to four-star rank in 1998, Gen. Davis' military decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. (Section 2, Grave E-311-RH)
*Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan, U.S. Army (1883–1959) — From 1942 to 1945, William “Wild Bill” Donovan was the founding director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. Donovan earned the United States' four highest awards: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal and the National Security Medal. He earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in action at Landres-et-St. Georges, France, during World War I. (Section 2, Grave 4874)
Adm. William Halsey Jr., U.S. Navy (1882–1959) — Adm. William "Bull" Halsey, one of the most important naval commanders of World War II, was promoted to fleet admiral (five-star) in December 1945. A Naval Academy graduate and decorated veteran of World War I, he was a leading proponent of carrier-based air and naval warfare. During World War II, Halsey commanded U.S. Navy forces in the South Pacific in 1942-1943, and in 1944 he assumed command of the Third Fleet, which played a decisive role in Japan's defeat. Adm. Halsey's flagship, the USS Enterprise, was the first carrier to be honored with the Presidential Unit Citation. Halsey's many individual awards included the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with three Gold Stars and the Army Distinguished Service Medal. (Section 2, Grave 1184)
Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James, U.S. Air Force (1920–1978) — The first Black four-star officer in the armed forces, Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. was a decorated fighter pilot who earned his Army Air Corps wings in 1943 at Tuskegee Army Airfield, where he trained pilots for the all-Black 99th Pursuit Squadron during World War II. He flew 101 combat missions in Korea and 78 combat missions in Vietnam — including a flight in "Operation Bolo" on January 2, 1967, which destroyed seven Communist MiGs, the highest total kill of any mission during the Vietnam War. James was promoted to the four-star rank of general in 1975, and assigned as commander-in-chief of NORAD/ADCOM at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. At age 58, he died from a heart attack, just three weeks after his retirement from the Air Force. (Section 2, Grave 4968)
Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny, U.S. Army (1815–1862) — During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Civil War (1861-1865), Kearny's fearless character in battle earned him the nickname "Kearny the Magnificent." In the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Kearny led a daring cavalry charge at the Battle of Churubusco and suffered a wound to his left arm, which was later amputated. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Kearny returned to the Army in spite of his injury. He was killed in action on Sept. 1, 1862, at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Kearny was originally buried at Trinity Church in his native New York, but in 1911 his remains were re-interred at Arlington. The bronze equestrian statue commemorates Kearny's lifelong association with cavalry troops. Sculptor Edward Clark Potter, best known for the marble lions in front of the New York Public Library, designed the monument. It is one of two equestrian statues in the cemetery. (Section 2, Grave S-8)
Adm. William Leahy, U.S. Navy (1875–1959) — Leahy was one of two admirals promoted to fleet admiral (five-star) in December 1944. He served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. As chief of naval operations from 1937 to 1939, he oversaw the Navy's return to preparedness during the lead-up to World War II. He also served as governor of Puerto Rico, U.S. ambassador to France and chief of staff to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. (Section 2, Grave 932)
Capt. Charles Pierre L'Enfant, Continental Army (1754–1825) — Born in France, L'Enfant was an architect and city planner who designed the plan for Washington, D.C. He came to American to fight in the Revolutionary War, and the Continental Congress commissioned him as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He was wounded and captured as a prisoner of war. Later, L'Enfant served on George Washington's staff. In spite of his war record and subsequent renown as a city planner, L'Enfant died in poverty on a Maryland farm, where he was originally buried in an unremarkable grave. In 1909, Congress ordered L'Enfant's remains to be disinterred and brought to Washington, D.C. They lay in state in the U.S. Capitol before reinterment at Arlington in an elaborate ceremony. The marble monument, erected in 1911, features an engraving of L'Enfant's plan for the nation's capital. (Section 2, Grave S-3)
*Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, U.S. Army (1845–1912) — After the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), President William McKinley appointed MacArthur as military governor of the occupied Philippines. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Chattanooga Campaign (1863) of the Civil War. He was the father of Douglas MacArthur, the five-star general and World War II hero. (Section 2, Grave 856)
Rear Adm. Henry Gabriel Sanchez, U.S. Navy (1907-1978) — Rear Adm. Henry Gabriel Sanchez, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a decorated naval aviator. During World War II, he commanded Fighting Squadron 72 (VF-72), an F4F squadron of 37 aircraft, aboard the carrier USS Hornet. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for meritorious achievement on October 26, 1942, during the Battle of Santa Cruz — the fourth major naval engagement between the United States and Japan. According to the medal citation, Sanchez "led a division of fighters in a determined and daring attack on Japanese interceptor planes." His other awards include the Air Medal with Gold Star and the Presidential Unit Citation with three stars. (Section 2, Grave 4736-3-4)
Rear Adm. Winfield S. Schley, U.S. Navy (1839–1911) — During the Spanish-American War, Schley commanded one of the squadrons in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba (July 1898), in which the United States decisively defeated the Spanish fleet. (Section 2, Grave 1207)
*Lt. Gen. John Schofield, U.S. Army (1831–1906) — A leading Union general in the Civil War, John Schofield also served as secretary of war under Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant. He earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism while leading a regiment in a successful charge at Wilson's Creek, Missouri, on August 10, 1861. (Section 2, Grave 1108)
Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army (1831–1888) — The namesake of Sheridan Drive and Sheridan Gate at Arlington National Cemetery, this Civil War general was most famous for his destructive Shenandoah Valley campaign in 1864, a major U.S. victory and turning point in the war. Sheridan became commanding general of the Army in 1883 and general of the Army of the United States (the nation's highest military rank) on June 1, 1888, about two months prior to his death. Gen. Sheridan received the first full military honors burial ceremony at Arlington, and his funeral helped to elevate the cemetery to national prominence. The monument at his gravesite (pictured, above) is a granite Egyptian-style obelisk — similar to the Washington Monument, also completed in 1888. The cast bronze bas-relief sculpture, featuring a bust of Sheridan, is considered one of the most important works by English sculptor Samuel J. Kitson. (Section 2, Grave S-1)
Gen. Brehon Burke Somervell, U.S. Army (1892–1955) — Commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Somervell was a decorated veteran of the Mexican Expedition (1916-1917) and World War I. During World War II, he led the Army Service Forces, which coordinated the Army's logistical operations — including its involvement in the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government's secret atomic weapons program. Somervell also oversaw the project to design and build the Pentagon. (Section 2, Grave 4946)
*Gen. Alexander Vandegrift, U.S. Marine Corps (1887–1973) — During World War II, Gen. Vandegrift commanded the 1st Marine Division in the Battle of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands, 1942-1943), the Allies' first large-scale offensive, and first victory, in the Pacific Theater. His previous service in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and China prepared him well for the challenges of jungle warfare. Vandegrift earned the Medal of Honor for his "tenacity, courage and resourcefulness" during the Guadalcanal campaign. He was the first Marine to earn both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, and the first Marine to hold a four-star rank while on active duty. (Section 2, Grave 4965-B)
Lt. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, U.S. Army (1836–1906) — During conflicts with American Indians in the New Mexico Territory in the 1850s, Joseph Wheeler earned the nickname "Fighting Joe." A native of Georgia, he joined the Confederate Army in 1861 and emerged as one of its leading cavalry commanders. After the Civil War, he served eight terms as a Democratic Congressman from Alabama. At over 60 years old, he fought in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars (1898-1902). (Section 2, Grave 1089)
Rear Adm. Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy (1798–1877) — Known for his skill with navigational instruments, Wilkes commanded the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842 (also known as the Ex. Ex. or Wilkes Expedition), which mapped large portions of the northwest American coast, the Pacific and Antarctica. Wilkes's Civil War service was controversial, resulting in an 1864 court martial; however, the charges were dropped and he was promoted to rear admiral (retired) in 1866. (Section 2, Grave 1164)
Section 3
**Maj. Gen. Frank D. Baldwin, U.S. Army (1842–1923) — Baldwin was a double Medal of Honor recipient for acts of valor performed during the Civil War (on July 20, 1864) and the Indian Wars (on Nov. 8, 1874). At the time, he was the only person to have earned the Medal of Honor twice. He also served in the Spanish-American War and as adjutant general of the Colorado National Guard during World War I. (Section 3, Grave 1894)
Maj. Frederick W. Benteen, U.S. Army (1834–1898) — A career military officer who fought in the Civil War and the Indian Wars, Benteen was best known as Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's third-in-command at the Battle of Little Bighorn (June 25, 1876), in which Cheyenne and Sioux warriors decisively defeated Custer's 7th Cavalry. (Section 3, Grave 1351)
Lt. Gen. Adna Romanza Chaffee, U.S. Army (1884–1941) — In a long and distinguished military career, Chafee served in the Civil War, the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War. He commanded U.S. troops sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901), and served as military governor of the Philippines from 1901 to 1902. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1904, he was chief of staff of the U.S. Army until his retirement from active service in 1906. (Section 3, Grave 1945-WS)
Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee Jr., U.S. Army (1842–1914) — Known as the "Father of the U.S. Armored Force," Chaffee was a leading advocate of mechanized warfare. He played a key role in the development of the United States' tank forces between the world wars. A West Point graduate from a military family, he served in World War I. (Section 3, Grave 1944)
*Lt. Cmdr. Edouard Izac, U.S. Navy (1891–1990) — During World War I, Izac earned the Medal of Honor for his daring efforts to escape German imprisonment in order to provide intelligence information to the Allies. After his ship, the USS President Lincoln, was attacked and sunk by German submarine U-90 in May 1918, Izac was held aboard the U-boat as a prisoner of war. Izac could understand German because his father had emigrated to the United States from Germany. As he overheard U-90 officers talking, he gathered information about the movements of German submarines. Determined to pass this information to his superiors, he attempted to escape twice, succeeding the second time. Izac also served as a member of Congress from 1937 to 1947. (Section 3, Grave 4222-16)
Maj. Jonathan Letterman, U.S. Army (1824–1872) — Surgeon general of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, Maj. Letterman has been called "the father of battlefield medicine." He established the Ambulance Corps and implemented procedures and techniques that are still used today. (Section 3, Grave 1869)
*Maj. Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles, U.S. Army (1839–1925) — Miles enlisted in the Army as a volunteer infantryman in 1861 and rose steadily through the ranks to become commanding general of the Army. During the Civil War, he was wounded four times and earned the Medal of Honor for exceptional valor in the Battle of Chancellorsvile. He led campaigns against American Indians in the 1870s and 1880s, as well as the invasion of Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last commanding general of the Army, which then adopted a chief of staff system. On May 15, 1920, the 80-year-old retired general was grand marshall at the dedication ceremony for Memorial Amphitheater. He is interred in a large mausoleum (pictured, above), one of only two in the cemetery. (Section 3, Grave 1873)
Brig. Gen. Noel F. Parrish, U.S. Air Force (1907–1987) — Parrish, a career military aviator, commanded the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Under his leadership, 966 Black service members completed military pilot training at Alabama's Tuskegee Army Airfield between 1941 and 1946. After the war, Parrish helped advise the Truman administration's desegregation of the armed forces, and he held several Air Force and NATO leadership positions. (Section 3, Grave 1667)
Lt. Col. Lemuel A. Penn, U.S. Army (1915–1964) — An educator and World War II veteran, Penn joined the Army Reserve as a student at Howard University. During World War II, he served in New Guinea and the Philippines, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel and earning a Bronze Star. After the war, he worked in education, becoming assistant superintendent of the Washington, D.C. public schools. On July 11, 1964, Lt. Col. Penn and two other veterans were returning from reserve training at Fort Benning, Georgia when local Ku Klux Klansmen began shooting at their car, killing Penn. After a local jury failed to convict the suspects of murder, the federal government prosecuted them for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, passed just nine days before Penn's murder. (Section 3, Grave 1377-LH)
*Brig. Gen. Edmund Rice, U.S. Army (1842–1906) — Rice's gravesite has a unique marker: a large rock featuring a bronze replica of the Medal of Honor. Attaining the rank of brigadier general, Rice served in the Civil War (earning the Medal of Honor for exceptional valor in repelling Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg), the Indian Wars of the 1870s-1880s and the Philippine-American War. He also invented military equipment, holding several patents. (Section 3, Grave 1875)
1st Lt. Thomas Selfridge, U.S. Army (1882–1908) — Selfridge is known for being the first person to die in the crash of a powered airplane, during a demonstration flight with Orville Wright on Sept. 17, 1908. During his lifetime, he made key contributions to the development of aviation. Selfridge designed the first powered aircraft for the Aerial Experiment Association (an important research group chaired by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell) and, shortly before his death, made the first dirigible flights for the Army Signal Corps. (Section 3, Grave 2158)
Col. Charles Young, U.S. Army (1864–1922) — Charles Young was born into slavery in 1864 in Kentucky. His father, Gabriel Young, escaped and joined the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. In 1889, Young became the third African American to graduate from West Point. He served in the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) and subsequently became the first African American superintendent of a national park (1903) and the first African American to attain the rank of colonel (1917). Young died in 1922, while serving as a U.S. military attache in Liberia. He was honored with a full military honors memorial service at Arlington. Attended by some 5,000 people, it was the fourth service to be held in the newly constructed Memorial Amphitheater. (Section 3, Grave 1730-B)
Section 4
Cmdr. Elmer Fowler Stone, U.S. Coast Guard (1887–1936) — The U.S. Coast Guard's first aviator, Stone flew seaplanes for the U.S. Navy during World War I and advocated for the development of Coast Guard aviation. In May 1919, he piloted the first successful flight across the Atlantic Ocean, a 54-hour feat via Nova Scotia and the Azores. (Eight years later, Charles Lindbergh would accomplish the first non-stop transatlantic flight.) During the 1920s and 1930s, Cmdr. Stone tested new types of seaplanes for the Coast Guard and Navy, and in 1934 he set a world speed record for amphibian aircraft. (Section 4, Grave 3205-A)
Section 5
Brig. Gen. Roscoe Conklin “Rock” Cartwright, U.S. Army (1919–1974) — The first Black graduate of any Army Officer Candidate School to be promoted to brigadier general, Cartwright was drafted into the Army in 1941. He attended Fort Sill Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1942. During World War II, he led the 599th Field Artillery Battalion, 92nd Infantry Division—the famed “Buffalo Soldiers”—through combat in Italy. He subsequently served combat tours in Korea and Vietnam. On August 1, 1971, Cartwright became the U.S. Army’s third Black brigadier general. Yet one of his most enduring contributions to the Army occurred off the battlefield. Cartwright founded a social group that provided mentoring and leadership training to African American officers; prominent members included Generals Colin Powell (Section 60) and Roscoe Robinson Jr. (Section 7A). Cartwright retired from the Army in 1974 after over 33 years of service. In December of that year, he and his wife, Gloria, were tragically killed in a plane crash. In Cartwright’s honor, the group he had founded was named “THE ROCKS”; to this day, they continue to mentor officers. Brig. Gen. Cartwright’s many awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal. (Section 5, Grave 140)
Gen. Graves Erskine, U.S. Marine Corps (1897–1973) — Noted for his distinguished service in both world wars, Graves Erskine joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a second lieutenant in 1917. During World War I, while serving in France with the Sixth Marine Regiment, he fought in the Battles of Belleau Wood, Soisson and St. Mihiel (sustaining a serious injury in the latter). In 1921, Erskine commanded the honor guard that escorted the body of the Unknown Soldier from France to the United States. During World War II, Erskine helped plan the Allied invasion of the Gilbert Islands (Pacific Theater) in 1943; participated in the capture of Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian in 1944; and led the Third Marine Division at the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, for which he received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. Erskine retired from the Marine Corps as a four-star general in 1953. He subsequently held leadership positions at the Department of Defense, focusing on special intelligence operations. (Section 5, Grave 7033)
Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, U.S. Navy (1900–1986) — The "Father of the Nuclear Navy," Rickover led the Navy's Naval Reactors division from 1949 to 1982, overseeing development of the nation's first nuclear submarines. Born in Poland, then part of the Russian Empire, Rickover's family emigrated to the United States when he was a child. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served 63 years of active duty. Rickover is one of only four people to have received two Congressional Gold Medals for exceptional public service. (Section 5, Grave 7000)
Lt. John Wingate Weeks, U.S. Navy (1860–1926) — A Naval Academy graduate, Weeks served as a volunteer in the Navy during the Spanish-American War (1898). He made his fortune in banking, as co-founder of the Boston financial firm Hornblower and Weeks. Between 1904 and 1919, he served four terms in the House of Representatives, and one term in the Senate, as a Republican from Massachusetts. He was then secretary of war under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Reflecting his wealth, Weeks' gravesite has one of the largest and most elaborate private markers in the cemetery. (Section 5, Grave 7064)
Section 6
Lt. Col. Lee "Buddy" Archer, U.S. Air Force (1919–2010) — When Lee "Buddy" Archer enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941, he wanted to become an aviator, but was initially rejected from pilot training on account of his race. A year later, however, he received acceptance to a new training program for Black pilots at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. Graduating first in his class, he became one of the Tuskegee Airmen, assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. During World War II, Archer flew 169 combat missions across 11 nations and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. His most famed aerial combat mission occurred on October 12, 1944, when he shot down three German planes in ten minutes. Archer transitioned to the Air Force after its creation as a separate service branch in 1947, retiring in 1970 as a lieutenant colonel. (Section 6, Grave 9215 RH)
Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, U.S. Marine Corps (1867–1942) — Often described as "the greatest of all Leathernecks," Lt. Gen. Lejeune was the 13th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps (1920-1929) and the namesake of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He served for more than 40 years, and his commands included leading the Army's renowned Second Division during World War I. He and his wife are buried with their daughter, Eugenia Lejeune, who served in the Marine Corps Reserve during World War II. (Section 6, Grave 5682)
Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Allen Rainey, U.S. Navy (1948–1982) — The first woman pilot in the Navy, Lt. Cmdr. Rainey was commissioned in 1970 and accepted into flight training school in 1974. She resigned her commission in November 1977, while pregnant with her first daughter, but remained active in the Naval Reserves. She was recalled to duty as a flight instructor in 1981. On July 13, 1982, she was killed in an aircraft accident while training another pilot. (Section 6, Grave 5813-A-7)
Section 7
Gen. George C. Marshall, U.S. Army (1880–1959) — One of the most distinguished military and diplomatic leaders of the 20th century, General George C. Marshall served as chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II (1939-1945). He directed the largest expansion of the Army in U.S. history, from fewer than 200,000 men before the war to more than eight million, with an unmatched arsenal of modern weapons and equipment. He also shaped American military strategy, advocating an invasion of Nazi-occupied France via the English Channel. On Dec. 16, 1944, Marshall was promoted to General of the Army (five stars), the nation's highest rank. After the war, President Harry Truman appointed him as secretary of state (1947-1949) and secretary of defense (1950-1951); he is the only person to have held both positions. Marshall's diplomatic career was as historically significant as his military one. Most notably, he conceived an ambitious, highly successful program for the postwar economic recovery of Western Europe — known as the "Marshall Plan" — for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. (Section 7, Grave 8198)
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, U.S. Army (1895–1993) — A 1917 graduate of West Point, Ridgway served with distinction during World War II as commander of the 82nd Airborne Division (parachuting into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944) and XVIII Airborne Corps. During the Korean War, as commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, Matthew Ridgway launched a successful counteroffensive against Chinese forces in late 1950, which was largely credited with salvaging the United Nations’ war effort. Promoted to general in April 1951, Ridgway succeeded Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as commander of Allied forces in Asia—a position which placed him in charge of UN strategy for the remainder of the war. He subsequently served as Army chief of staff (1953-1955). During his retirement, he published two books: a memoir titled "Soldier" (1956) and "The Korean War: How We Met the Challenge" (1967). General Ridgeway’s many honors included the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986) and the Congressional Gold Medal (1991). He died in 1993 at age 98. (Section 7, Grave 8196-1)
Gen. Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, U.S. Army (1895–1961) — Known affectionately as "Beetle," General Walter Bedell Smith served during World War II as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s chief of staff—first in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and then at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in England and France. He played a key role in orchestrating Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies on May 7, 1945. After the war, Smith held foreign policy leadership positions in the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, serving as U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union (1946-1948), director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1950-1953) and as under secretary of state (1953-1954). (Section 7, Grave 8197-A)
Section 7A
*Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, U.S. Marine Corps (1912–1988) — A World War II fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient, Col. "Pappy" Boyington shot down a total of 28 Japanese aircraft. Initially in Army ROTC, he joined the Marines in 1935. In August 1941, he resigned his Marine commission in order to join the Flying Tigers (1st American Volunteer Group), organized by Gen. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force. Boyington rejoined the Marines in 1942 and commanded the "Black Sheep" squadron (Marine Fighting Squadron 214) in the South Pacific. On Jan. 3, 1944, he was shot down, captured and then held in a Japanese prison camp for 20 months. Boyington's 1958 memoir, "Baa Baa Black Sheep," inspired the 1970s television series of the same name. (Section 7A, Grave 150)
*Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, U.S. Army (1896–1993) — Jimmy Doolittle was an aviation pioneer and famed World War II air commander. He earned the Medal of Honor for personal valor and leadership as commander of the Doolittle Raid, a bold long-range retaliatory air raid on the Japanese mainland, on April 18, 1942. Promoted to lieutenant general, he commanded the 12th Air Force over North Africa, the 15th Air Force over the Mediterranean and the 8th Air Force over Europe. Between the world wars, Doolittle played an instrumental role in the development of American aviation, setting numerous speed records and, in 1922, making the first cross-country flight (for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross). He continued these pioneering efforts after the war, advising the development of ballistic missiles and space programs as a special advisor to the Air Force chief of staff. Doolittle also helped organize and served as the first president of the Air Force Association. (Section 7A, Grave 110)
Col. Louis Gonzaga Mendez Jr., U.S. Army (1915-2001) — A decorated airborne combat veteran of World War II, Colonel Louis Gonzaga Mendez was of Mexican, Spanish and Navajo descent. As commander of the 3rd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, he was dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy, France on June 5, 1944, the day before the D-Day invasion. For leading an attack that captured the town of Pretot, Mendez received the Distinguished Service Cross. He also led his battalion during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. In his Army career after the war, Mendez held a variety of command posts in the United States and abroad, rising to the rank of colonel; he also served as secretary of the Organization of American States' Inter-American Defense Board. He earned a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University and taught at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. After retiring from the military in 1970, he held leadership positions in the Department of Education. (Section 7A, Grave 145)
Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr., U.S. Army (1928–1993) — In 1982, Gen. Robinson became the first African American in the Army to attain four-star rank, and the second in the military (after Daniel "Chappie" James of the U.S. Air Force). In a 34-year military career that began in 1951, the West Point graduate served with the 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War and the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He earned two Silver Stars, three Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star. Gen. Robinson served as U.S. representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for three years preceding his retirement in 1985. (Section 7A, Grave 18)
*Gen. David M. Shoup, U.S. Marine Corps (1904–1983) — Gen. Shoup served as the 22nd commandant of the Marine Corps, from 1960 through 1963. During World War II, he earned the Medal of Honor as commanding officer of all Marine Corps troops in the Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943), one of the deadliest Pacific Theater battles. His report from Tarawa stated simply: "Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning." Later, Shoup became known as a critic of the Vietnam War. (Section 7A, Grave 189)
Gen. Maxwell Taylor, U.S. Army (1901–1987) — Gen. Taylor's distinguished World War II service included organizing the Army's first airborne division, the 82nd; conducting a risky secret mission behind enemy lines in Italy; and commanding the 101st Airborne Division and participating in its parachute assault into Normandy before D-Day (June 6, 1944). Toward the end of the Korean War, Taylor commanded the Eighth Army, and in 1954 he assumed command of all UN forces in Korea. He was appointed chief of staff of the Army in 1955, and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1962. A trusted advisor of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Gen. Taylor played a key role in developing the United States' early strategy in Vietnam, and he briefly served as ambassador to South Vietnam. (Section 7A, Grave 20)
*Lt. Col. Matt Urban, U.S. Army (1919–1995) — One of the most-decorated heroes of World War II, Urban served with the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division in the Mediterranean and Europe. He earned the Medal of Honor for exceptional valor in combat in France during the summer of 1944. After receiving a serious leg wound, Urban was recuperating in a hospital in England when he learned that his unit had suffered significant casualties. He left the hospital and hitchhiked back to the 2nd Battalion command post near St. Lo, France. Under heavy enemy fire, he was wounded three more times in August and early September 1944, each time refusing evacuation until his battalion was secure. Due to a mail mishap, the Army did not receive Urban's Medal of Honor recommendation at the time. In the late 1970s, the Army examined eyewitness accounts and other evidence of Urban's heroic combat actions, and President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Medal of Honor on July 19, 1980. (Section 7A, Grave 40)
Section 8
Cmdr. Beatrice V. Ball, U.S. Coast Guard (1902–1963) — Cmdr. Beatrice Ball served as a senior officer in SPAR, the U.S. Coast Guard women's reserve, created in November 1942 to help alleviate manpower shortages during World War II. She was the first SPAR member assigned to intelligence work. The name of the unit is a contraction of the Coast Guard motto, "Semper Paratus — Always Ready." (Section 8, Grave 115-RH)
**Lt. Cdr. John McCloy, U.S. Navy (1876–1945) — McCloy joined the U.S. Merchant Marine at age 15 and enlisted in the Navy in 1898, serving in the Spanish-American War. He earned his first Medal of Honor for meritorious conduct during the China Relief Expedition of June 1900, and his second for leading three picket launches against heavy enemy fire during the U.S. occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914. (Sectoin 8, Grave 5246)
Rear Adm. Robert E. Peary, U.S. Navy (1856–1920) — On April 6, 1922, Robert Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole, joined by his colleague Matthew Henson and four Inuit assistants. While in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps, Peary had made several previous Arctic expeditions, setting a "farthest north" record on a Greenland expedition in 1906. In 1911, Congress promoted Peary to rear admiral. The monument over his grave (pictured, above) features a large, white granite globe, with a bronze star marking the North Pole. (Section 8, Grave S-15)
Maj. Marie Therese Rossi, U.S. Army (1959–1991) — During the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), Maj. Rossi became the first American female combat commander to fly into battle. A helicopter pilot, she commanded a CH-47 Chinook helicopter company deployed to Saudi Arabia. She was killed in a helicopter crash on March 1, 1991, the day after a ceasefire agreement ended Operation Desert Storm. (Section 8, Grave 9872)
Section 12
*Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, U.S. Marine Corps (1916–1945) — Basilone earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in combat at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (World War II, Pacific Theater) n October 1942. During brutal fighting with heavy casualties on both sides, he killed at least 38 Japanese soldiers. He returned home to a hero's welcome, including a parade featured in "Life" magazine. But he requested to return to combat, stating that he was just "a plain soldier" who belonged with his unit. On Feb. 19, 1945, Basilone was killed in action leading an assault off the beaches of Iwo Jima. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the only enlisted Marine to earn both the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor. (Section 12, Grave 384)
Pfc. Raito R. Nakashima, U.S. Army (1925–1945) and Staff Sgt. Wataru Nakashima, U.S. Army (1923–1946) — During World War II, Raito Nakashima and his brother, Wataru Nakashima, served with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Comprised of Japanese-American soldiers, the 442nd is one of the most-decorated infantry regiments in U.S. military history. Pfc. Raito Nakashima was killed in action and posthumously received a Silver Star, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy" in Italy on April 14, 1945. Despite grevious wounds, he fired at enemy troops attempting to infiltrate his company until he collapsed. Wataru Nakashima also served with the 442nd and was laid to rest next to his brother. (Section 12, Graves 5124 and 5125)
Col. Frank Snowden, U.S. Army (1885–1977) — During World War II, Snowden served as the senior Black officer at Camp Lee, Virginia, where he advised the Army on race relations. He subsequently held several civilian positions in the Army. His son, Frank Snowden Jr., was a pre-eminent scholar of classics and recipient of the National Humanities Medal. (Section 12, Grave 8471-3)
Sgt. Michael Strank, U.S. Marine Corps (1919–1945) — Born in Slovakia, Strank emigrated to Pennsylvania with his parents as a child and enlisted in the Marines in 1939 and fought in World War II. He was one of six Marines depicted in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph, "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima," which inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial. Taken on Feb. 23, 1945, the image depicts Strank and others in his unit (Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Division) raising the American flag after capturing Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Strank was killed in action one week after the photograph was taken. (Section 12, Grave 7179)
Maj. Gen. Orde Charles Wingate, British Army (1903–1944) — One of the foreign nationals buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Wingate was a British intelligence officer and explorer who served primarily in Asian and African regions of Britain's empire. In Palestine, he helped to train early Jewish settlers in self-defense; Generals Moshe Dyan and Yigal Allon were two of his prize students, and the Israeli Defense Forces later adopted his unconventional military tactics. In March 1944, Wingate was leading British commando units in Burma when he perished in an airplane crash in the Burmese jungle. The commingled remains of the aircraft's crew and passengers, both British and U.S. citizens, were found and returned to Arlington for burial in 1950. (Section 12, Grave 288)
Section 13
Capt. Daniel Keys, U.S. Army (d. 1883) — Civil War veteran Capt. Daniel Keys has Arlington National Cemetery's only remaining cast-iron headstone, also known as a "Meigs Marker." The U.S. government originally used wooden markers for military burials, but wood proved costly to replace. Two alternatives were chosen: marble and galvanized iron coated with zinc, although marble soon became the standard. The iron headstones became known as "Meigs Markers" after Army Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs, who was in charge of Arlington when it became a national cemetery. (Section 13, Grave 13615)
McCullough brothers, U.S. Army — In a poignant representation of the Civil War's impact on individual families, four brothers who fought for the U.S. Army are buried together. All served as privates in the 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry: Jacob McCullough (1838–1864), Joseph McCullough (1847–1864), John McCullough (1842–1869) and Nathaniel McCullough (1844–1908). Jacob and Joseph died during the war, the other two brothers died afterward. (Section 13, Grave 13724)
Cpl. Frank S. Scott, U.S. Army (1883–1912) — Cpl. Frank Scott was American military aviation's first enlisted casualty. He had trained as an airplane mechanic at the Army Signal Corps' Aviation School at College Park Flying Field, Maryland. On Sept. 28, 1912, he flew as the passenger of a student pilot at the school. Their Wright Model B airplane developed engine trouble and crashed, killing both aboard. Cpl. Scott is the namesake of Illinois' Scott Air Force Base. (Section 13, Grave 5331-S)
*Capt. Humbert Roque Versace, U.S. Army (1937–1965) — A Vietnam War POW, Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace received the first Medal of Honor for actions performed in Southeast Asia while in captivity. After graduating from West Point in 1959, Versace was commissioned as a second lieutenant and subsequently earned a Ranger Tab and a Parachutist Badge. He volunteered to go to Vietnam, enrolling in Vietnamese language and military intelligence courses. In May 1962, he arrived in the Republic of Vietnam as an intelligence advisor. On October 29, 1963, less than two weeks before the end of his tour, he was wounded and captured during a Viet Cong ambush. Capt. Versace tried to escape four times, and his captors ultimately chained him in an isolation cell. Still, he tried to boost fellow prisoners' morale by singing popular songs; he was last heard loudly singing "God Bless America." On September 26, 1965, North Vietnamese radio announced that he had been executed. Capt. Versace posthumously received a Silver Star, and on July 8, 2002, President George W. Bush awarded him the Medal of Honor. Versace was of Puerto Rican descent, and his name is engraved on the Monument of Remembrance in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At Arlington, a memorial marker honors his service and sacrifice. (Memorial Section G, Site 108) Capt. Versace's father, Col. Humbert Joseph Versace, is buried nearby (Section 13, Grave 494-2).
Section 18
Sgt. Edward F. Younger, U.S. Army (1898–1942) — This World War I veteran and Purple Heart recipient selected the World War I Unknown Soldier. Sgt. Younger enlisted in the Army in early 1917 and served in major combat engagements, including Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, the Somme offensive and the Meuse-Argonne offensive; he was wounded twice. While stationed in Germany during the postwar occupation, Younger received the honor of serving as one of six pallbearers to attend the selection of the Unknown Soldier in France. Originally, instructions called for a commissioned officer to make the selection. At the last minute, however, the Army quartermaster general learned that the French had delegated this honor to an enlisted man when they chose their Unknown Soldier in 1920. He consequently authorized this duty to be given to one of the enlisted men participating in the ceremony. Major Robert P. Harbold, the officer in charge, chose Younger. Inside the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Chalons-sur-Marne, France, four American unknowns — who had previously been buried in American military cemeteries in France — lay in identical caskets. On Oct. 24, 1921, Younger was instructed to place a spray of white roses on one of the caskets. The casket that he selected was then transported to Arlington and buried at the newly constructed Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Nov. 11, 1921. (Section 18, Grave 1918-B)
**Cpl. John Pruitt, U.S. Marine Corps (1896–1918) — During World War I, this Marine posthumously received both the Army Medal of Honor and the Navy Medal of Honor for his actions in combat at Blanc Mont Ridge, France, on Oct. 3, 1918. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Cpl. Pruitt "singlehandedly attacked two machine guns, capturing them and killing two of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners in a dugout nearby." He was killed by shellfire the next day, his 22nd birthday. Pruitt's other medals included two Purple Hearts, four Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars. (Section 18, Grave 2453)
Section 21
Gen. Creighton Williams Abrams Jr., U.S. Army (1914–1974) — Gen. Creighton Abrams commanded all U.S. forces in Vietnam during the latter years of the Vietnam War (1968-1972), implementing President Richard M. Nixon's policy of "Vietnamization" and gradual U.S. withdrawal. He then served as Army chief of staff until his death from cancer on Sept. 4, 1974. Abrams—a legendary tank commander in World War II who led the 37th Tank Battalion in the 4th Armored Division of General George Patton's Third Army.—became the namesake of the M-1 Abrams tank. (Section 21, Grave S-33)
Gen. George Scratchley Brown, U.S. Air Force (1918–1978) — A highly decorated World War II hero, Gen. George Scratchley Brown was appointed chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force (August 1973-June 1974) and then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (July 1974 until his retirement in 1978). During World War II, he flew B-24s with the 93rd Bombardment Group, earning the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the low-level bombing of oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania, in 1943. Brown held major air commands in the Korean War, and during the Vietnam War, as commander of the Seventh Air Force, he effectively oversaw the United States' air operations in Southeast Asia. (Section 21, Grave S-24)
Rear Adm. William T. Sampson, U.S. Navy (1840–1902) — As commander of the North Atlantic Squadron during the Spanish-American War (1898), Sampson implemented the naval strategy that enabled the United States to achieve victory over Spain. However, he was absent (away conferring with the commander of U.S. land forces) during the decisive Battle of Santiago de Cuba, in which the Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet — prompting a controversy over whether Sampson or Adm. Winfield S. Schley (buried in Section 2; see above), who was in command during that battle, should receive credit for the victory. Sampson also served as president of the U.S.S. Maine court of inquiry, which investigated the explosion of the Maine in Havana Harbor. (Section 21, Grave S-9)
*Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, U.S. Army (1860–1927) — Wood played a key role in shaping American global expansion and military preparedness in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A Harvard Medical School graduate, he began his Army career as a medical officer on the southwestern frontier, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1886 for his role in the campaign against Geronimo and the Apaches. During the Spanish-American War (1898), Wood and his friend Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the Navy, organized and commanded the famous "Rough Riders" (1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment). After the war, Wood became military general of Cuba (1899-1902). He served in the Philippines as governor of Moro Province (1903-1906) and as commander of the Army's Department of the East (1906-1908), amidst ongoing rebellions by Filipino nationalists. President William H. Taft appointed Wood chief of staff of the Army in 1910. His last appointment, after he ran unsuccessfully for the 1920 Republican presidential nomination, was as governor general of the Philippines (1921-1927). (Section 21, Grave S-10)
Section 23
Sgt. Maj. Milton Holland, U.S. Army (1844–1910)Born into slavery, Milton Holland enlisted in the 5th United States Colored Infantry regiment in 1863, rising to the rank of sergeant major. During the Battle of New Market Heights and Chaffin's Farm on September 29, 1864, Holland assumed command of the regiment after all of its white commanding officers were killed or wounded. He gallantly led his men as they routed the attacking Confederate Army and regained control of strategic territory near Richmond, Virginia. Holland earmed a Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. He later founded the first Black-owned insurance company in Washington, D.C. (Section 23, Grave 21713)
Section 25
*Sgt. Henry Johnson, U.S. Army (1892–1929) — During World War I, Sgt. Henry Johnson served in France with the U.S. Army's 369th Infantry Regiment, an African American unit nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters." He was the first American soldier to earn France's highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre, for his actions in combat in the Argonne Forest. In the early morning hours of May 15, 1918, Johnson and Pvt. Neadom Roberts were on sentry duty when a squad of Germans began firing at them. Both were severely wounded, and Johnson continued fighting even after taking bullets in the arm, head and side, and suffering 21 wounds in hand-to-hand combat. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross. (Section 25, Grave 64)
Section 26
Capt. Albert H. Packard, U.S. Army (d. May 15, 1864) — Buried four days after Pvt. Henry Christman (see below), Packard was the first officer to be buried at Arlington. A captain of the 31st Maine Infantry, he was severely wounded during the Civil War Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864) and died 10 days later at a Washington, D.C. hospital. (Section 26, Grave 5203)
Section 27
Pvt. William B. Blatt, U.S. Army (d. May 13, 1864) — The first combat casualty buried at Arlington, Blatt was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness and died en route to a hospital. He fought in the Civil War as a private in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry. (Section 27, Grave 18)
Pvt. William Henry Christman, U.S. Army (d. May 11, 1864) — On May 13, 1864, Pvt. William Henry Christman, of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry, became the first service member to be buried in what would become Arlington National Cemetery. Like many Civil War casualties, the 21-year-old soldier died from disease — measles — rather than from combat wounds. And, like many enlisted service members who would be laid to rest at the new military cemetery, Christman came from a poor family. According to his descendents, who attended a ceremony on the 150th anniversary of his burial, Christman enlisted in the U.S. Army after his brother Barnabas was killed in battle. (Section 27, Grave19)
Pvt. William Reeves, U.S. Army (d. May 13, 1864) — Pvt. William Reeves, of the 76th New York Infantry, became the first draftee to be buried at Arlington. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Enrollment Act on March 3, 1863, authorizing a draft for all male U.S. citizens ages 20 through 45. (Section 27, Grave 99)
Section 30
Gen. Omar N. Bradley, U.S. Army (1883–1981) — The last general to attain five-star rank, Gen. Omar Bradley was promoted to General of the Army on Sept. 22, 1950. A West Point graduate, he began World War II with no combat experience; during World War I, he had been assigned to guard copper mines in Montana. By the end of the war, however, Gen. Bradley commanded 43 divisions and 1.3 million men, the largest body of soldiers (at the time) to serve under a U.S. field commander. As senior commander of American ground forces in the 1944 invasion of France, Bradley played a leading role in Allied victory in Europe. Appointed Army chief of staff in 1948, he was the first chairman of the newly-created Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving in that position from 1949 to 1953. In that capacity, he oversaw U.S. strategy in the Korean War and the early Cold War. Nicknamed "the GI's General," Bradley was known for his modesty and his solicitude toward his troops. (Section 30, 428-1-2)
Adm. Louis E. Denfeld, U.S. Navy (1891–1972) — Denfeld commanded a destroyer division in the Pacific during World War II, and in 1947 he was named commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. After the war, he served as chief of naval operations from 1947 to 1949 and advocated for the continuing importance of sea power in national defense. The secretary of the Navy requested Denfield's resignation after he took a strong stand in favor of naval aviation during 1949 Congressional hearings, contradicting the Defense Department's emphasis on strategic nuclear bombing executed by the Air Force. (Section 30, 433)
Lt. James V. Forrestal, U.S. Navy (1892–1949) — Forrestal was the United States' first secretary of defense, after the National Security Act of 1947 unified the U.S. armed forces under the newly-created Department of Defense. Helserved in that position from 1947 to 1949. In addition to guiding the military through this bureaucratic reorganization, Forrestal helped to formulate early Cold War defense policy. The former investment banker had proven himself to be a skilled military administrator during World War II: as undersecretary and then secretary of the Navy, he organized the Navy's massive wartime expansion and procurement programs. The inscription on his headstone reads: "In the great cause of good government." (Section 30, 674)
Capt. Michael D. Groves, U.S. Army (1936–1963) — Groves commanded Honor Guard Company (Company E) of the 3rd U.S. Infantry (the "Old Guard") during the funeral of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 25, 1963. He was responsible for the training and supervision of the body bearers, rifle firing party and caisson escort. One week after the funeral, Groves suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 27. (Section 30, 897)
Gen. Alexander M. Haig Jr., U.S. Army (1924–2010) — Alexander M. Haig served (in descending order) as President Ronald Reagan's first secretary of state, as chief of staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and as President Nixon's deputy national security advisor. One of Nixon's most influential advisors, Haig has been described as a kind of "acting president" who held the White House together during the final months of Watergate. He ultimately played a key role in persuading Nixon to resign. In addition to these civilian leadership positions, Haig had a distinguished military career: a decorated veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, he served as supreme allied commander of NATO forces from 1974 to 1979. He retired from active Army service in 1979 as a four-star general. (Section 30, Grave 418-LH)
Capt. Joy Bright Hancock, U.S. Navy (1898–1986) — Capt. Joy Bright Hancock’s service was instrumental to expanding women’s opportunities in the military. During World War I, Hancock enlisted in the Navy as a yeoman (F) first class; she served as a courier at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Cape May, New Jersey. She left the military when the war ended, but worked as a civilian for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. During World War II, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized creation of the Navy Women’s Reserve, or WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), in 1942, Hancock was commissioned as a lieutenant and served as a liaison between the Bureau of Aeronautics and the WAVES. She became director of the WAVES in 1946. Hancock also played an important role in getting Congress to pass the Women Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, which secured women a permanent place in the military during peacetime. That year, she became one of the first six women sworn into the regular Navy. In 1972, Captain Hancock published her autobiography, “Lady in the Navy,” recounting her own experiences as well as the history of women in the Navy. She is buried with her husband, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Ralph A. Ofstie. (Section 30, Grave 2138-RH)
Maj. Gen. Marcelite Jordan Harris, U.S. Air Force (1943–2018) — Maj. Gen. Marcelite Jordan Harris retired in 1997 as the highest-ranking female officer in the U.S. Air Force and the highest ranking African American woman in the Department of Defense. A graduate of Spelman Academy, she was commissioned as an officer in 1965, rising through the ranks to become, in 1991, the first African American female brigadier general in the Air Force. Many of her assignments represented "firsts" for women in the Air Force. Her medals included the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit. (Section 30, Grave 621-RH)
Gen. Harold K. Johnson, U.S. Army (1912–1983) — During World War II, as a battalion commander with the 57th Infantry Regiment (the Philippine Scouts), Johnson survived the Bataan Death March and 41 months enduring brutal conditions as a prisoner of war. He subsequently served in the Korean War, earning the Distinguished Service Cross. From 1960 to 1963, he was commandant of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Gen. Harold Johnson's long and distinguished military career culminated with his appointment as Army chief of staff — a position he held from 1964 to 1968, amidst the United States' escalating involvement in the Vietnam War. (Section 30, 430-2)
Lt. Gen. Elwood R. “Pete” Quesada, U.S. Air Force (1904-1993) — Lt. Gen. Elwood Quesada's career spanned military and civil aviation. In 1929, as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he served as a crew member on the record-setting "Question Mark" endurance flight, which stayed aloft for more than six days to demonstrate the feasibility of in-flight refueling. All five members of the crew, which also included legendary pilots Ira Eaker and Carl Spaatz, received the Distinguished Flying Cross. During World War II, Quesada held fighter commands during campaigns in Italy, North Africa and Europe, including the D-Day invasion in June 1944. He received two Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart. After retiring from active duty in 1951, Quesada entered private industry as an executive at Lockheed. From 1959 to 1961, he served as the first administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (Section 30, Grave 439-LH)
Adm. Arthur W. Radford, U.S. Navy (1896–1973) — Adm. Arthur Radford chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1953 to 1957. He had previously served as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the Korean War, and as an aircraft carrier division commander in the Pacific during World War II. A naval aviator, Radford advocated naval air power and the strong anti-communist deterrence policies of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Section 30, 435)
Adm. Harold R. Stark, U.S. Navy (1880–1972) — Adm. Harold Stark served as chief of naval operations from August 1939 to March 1942, overseeing the Navy's expansion and early mobilization for World War II. From 1943 to 1945, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces, Europe and the Twelfth Fleet, including all U.S. naval forces assigned to British waters and to the Atlantic coastal waters of Europe. For leading the U.S. Navy's involvement in the liberation of Europe, Stark received the Distinguished Service Medal. (Section 30, 433)
Gen. John Shalikashvili, U.S. Army (1936–2011) — Born in Warsaw, Poland, Shalikashvili lived through the World War II German occupation of Poland and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1952, at the age of 16. Drafted into the Army in 1958, "Shali" rose steadily through the ranks and served in the Vietnam War. After the Persian Gulf War (1991), he commanded the multilateral campaign to provide humanitarian relief to Kurdish refugees in Iraq. In 1992, Shalikashvili became supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe. The following year President Bill Clinton appointed him as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In both roles, he led efforts to maintain peace and security in post-Cold War Europe. Shalikashvili has been described as the "intellectual godfather" of the Partnership for Peace, NATO's program of cooperation with former Warsaw Pact countries. (Section 30, 832-2)
Gen. Charles P. Summerall, U.S. Army (1867–1955) — Gen. Summerall, Army chief of staff from 1926 to 1930, served in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars, the China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion) and World War I. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for commanding the 1st Division in France during World War I. After retiring from active service in 1931, Summerall was president of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, for 22 years. The inscription on his headstone reads: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." (Section 30, S-16)
Gen. Nathan Farragut Twining, U.S. Air Force (1897–1982) — A career officer, Twining grew up in a Navy family (his middle name honored U.S. Navy Admiral David Farragut) and attended West Point only after failing the Naval Academy entrance examination. During World War II, he commanded the 20th Air Force in the Pacific, which carried out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. In 1957, Twining became the first Air Force general appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after previously serving as Air Force chief of staff. In both positions, he played a key role in implementing President Dwight D. Eisenhower's doctrine of "massive retaliation," a Cold War strategy based on air power and nuclear strike capability. (Section 30, 434-2)
Gen. Earle G. Wheeler, U.S. Army (1908–1975) — As Army chief of staff from 1962 to 1964, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1968 to 1972, Gen. Wheeler oversaw the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, from rapid expansion in the mid-1960s to de-escalation in the early 1970s. Although he had less World War II combat experience than many other generals of his generation, he rose through the ranks as an administrator, effectively managing operations and logistics. (Section 30, 434-1)
Section 32
Field Marshal Sir John Dill, British Army (1881–1944) — Sir John Dill is the highest-ranking foreign military officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Knighted in 1937, he served in the South African War and World War I, and commanded British forces in Palestine during the interwar years. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Dill was sent to Washington, D.C., as the representative for the combined British and American chiefs of staff. President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal for his work in securing cooperation between British and American forces. Through the influence of his close friend Gen. George C. Marshall (see Section 7, above), Dill was buried at Arlington through a special act of Congress. The monument above his grave was unveiled by Marshall and dedicated by President Harry Truman on Nov. 1, 1950. Designed by internationally acclaimed equestrian sculptor Herbert Haseltine, the bronze statue depicts Dill in a British World War II-era military uniform, astride his horse. (Intersection of Roosevelt and Grant Drives)
Section 33
Gen. Frank E. Petersen Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (1932–2015) — The son of a sugar cane plantation worker, Petersen decided to join the military after Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the Navy in 1950 and, after completing flight training, accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. The first Black aviator in the Marines, Petersen flew more than 350 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, earning a Distinguished Service Medal, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Legion of Merit. Later, he became the first Black Marine to command a fighter squadron, an air group and a major base. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1988 as a three-star lieutenant general — and, in yet another "first," the first Black Marine Corps general. (Section 33, Grave 4571)
Section 34
Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, U.S. Air Force (1886–1950) — The only officer to hold a five-star rank in two different military services, and the only U.S. Air Force general to hold a five-star rank, Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold was promoted to General of the Army on Dec. 21, 1944, and became General of the U.S. Air Force on May 7, 1949. Taught to fly by the Wright brothers, Arnold was one of the first military pilots worldwide, and one of the first three rated pilots in the history of the U.S. Air Force. He supervised the expansion of the Army Air Service during World War I and, as a protegee of Gen. Billy Mitchell, continued promoting the development of air power during the interwar years. In World War II, Arnold served as chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps (1938-1941) and commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1945). Arnold also played a major role in the development of civil aviation, co-founding Pan American Airways in 1927. A brilliant strategic thinker, in 1945 he founded Project RAND, which evolved into one of the world's largest and most influential global policy think tanks. (Section 34, Grave 44-A)
Cpl. Frank W. Buckles, U.S. Army (1901–2011) — The last surviving American World War I veteran died on Feb. 27, 2011, at the age of 110. Buckles, who grew up on a Missouri farm, misstated his age in order to enlist in the Army, after the Navy and the Marines had rebuffed his interests. He served as a clerk and an ambulance driver in England and France. Following the armistice, his unit escorted former prisoners of war back to Germany. During World War II, Buckles himself became a prisoner of war. While working as a civilian in the Philippines, he was captured by the Japanese and spent three years in an internment camp. At Arlington National Cemetery's 2007 Veterans Day ceremony, "the last doughboy" laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (Section 34, Grave 579-A)
Cpl. Ira Hayes, U.S. Marine Corps (1923–1955) — Hayes was one of the six Marines depicted on the Marine Corps War Memorial, raising the American flag after capturing the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II. After enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1942, he served in Company E, Second Battalion and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima (1945) — one of the costliest Pacific theater battles of the Pacific theater, with more than 25,000 Americans killed, wounded or missing. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal documented Hayes and his fellow Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, the island's highest point, on Feb. 23, 1945. Rosenthal's iconic photo inspired the creation and design of the Marine Corps War Memorial. (Section 34, Grave 479-A)
Pvt. Felix Longoria, U.S. Army (1920-1945) — Born and raised in Texas, Longoria enlisted in the Army in November 1944 and was assigned to a regiment fighting in the Philippines. On June 16, 1945, fifteen days after landing in Luzon, Private Longoria was killed in an ambush. It took several years for his remains to be recovered and repatriated. Then, a Texas funeral director refused to hold a wake for Longoria because he was of Mexican descent. The GI Forum, a Hispanic veterans and civil rights organization founded in 1948, brought national attention to the case, and Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson obtained authorization for Longoria's remains to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. On February 16, 1949, he was laid to rest with full military honors, with Sen. and Lady Bird Johnson in attendance. People gathered at his grave annually for decades. (Section 34, Grave 4608)
Gen. John J. Pershing, U.S. Army (1860–1948) — Gen. John Joseph Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the U.S. Army: General of the Armies. (George Washington was promoted posthumously to the same rank in 1976.) After graduating from West Point in 1886, Pershing was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served in the Indian Wars of the late 1880s, the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, and he led the 1916 expedition into Mexico (sometimes called the "Pershing Punitive Expedition") to capture revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. During World War I, Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Forces in the Meuse-Argonne and other concluding campaigns on the Western Front. Years before his death, he had expressed a wish to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and he selected a small hill in a southeastern section of the cemetery as his gravesite. Pershing intentionally chose a simple, government-issued headstone, and the ground that slopes away from Pershing's site contains similar headstones marking the graves of hundreds he commanded in World War I. (Section 34, Grave S-19)
Section 35
Col. John Herschel Glenn Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (1921–2016): One of NASA's seven original Project Mercury astronauts, John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, circling it three times in his "Friendship 7" capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. A decorated fighter pilot, Glenn flew 59 combat missions during World War II and 90 combat missions in Korea. After the Korean War, he served as a naval test pilot, accomplishing the first transcontinental supersonic flight in 1957. Glenn retired from the Marine Corps in 1965 and then pursued a successful career as a businessman and politician. Elected to the Senate in 1974, he served four consecutive terms as a Democrat from Ohio. In 1988, Glenn returned to space on a nine-day Space Shuttle Discovery mission — becoming, at age 77, the oldest person to go to space. John Glenn died in 2016 at the age of 95. His many honors include six Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Air Medal with 18 Clusters, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. (Section 35, Grave 1543)
Gen. Paul X. Kelley, U.S. Marine Corps (1928–2019) — As 28th commandant of the Marine Corps, from 1983 to 1987, Gen. Paul X. Kelley “oversaw one of the most intense periods of modernization in Marine Corps history” (as his USMC obituary stated). Commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduating from Villanova University in 1950, “P.X.” Kelley rose through the ranks to become, in 1981, the youngest Marine to wear four stars. During the Vietnam War, he earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Legions of Merit for his combat service as a battalion and regimental commander. Yet Kelley’s greatest test came on Oct. 23, 1983 — just four months into his tenure as commandant — when suicide bombers attacked a Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. service members. Kelley later described the Beirut bombing as “the worst emotional trial of my life,” and he sought to repair the Marine Corps’ morale in its aftermath. After retiring from active duty in 1987, Gen. Kelley served two terms as chair of the American Battle Monuments Commission and held numerous leadership positions in the private sector. (Section 35, Grave 570)
Section 40
*Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton, U.S. Army (1929–1951) — Charlton joined the U.S. Army after graduating from high school in 1946, and served in the Korean War as a member of the 24th Regiment — the last all-Black combat unit in the Army. He earned the Medal of Honor for heroism in action on June 2, 1951. After his commanding officer was wounded and evacuated, Sgt. Charlton took command of his platoon and led his men, under heavy fire, to take a strategic position on a hill near Chipo-ri. Despite a severe chest wound, Charlton charged an enemy encampment alone, destroying it before dying of his wounds. (Section 40, Grave 300)
Section 45
Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, U.S. Air Force (1921–2010) — The first woman to serve as a major general in the U.S. armed forces, Maj. Gen. Holm had a long and distinguished career in the Air Force. She enlisted in the Army in 1942, soon after the establishment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She transferred to the Air Force in 1949 and was appointed director of Women in the Air Force (WAF) in 1965. During her tenure as director, policies affecting women were updated, WAF strength more than doubled and job and assignment opportunities greatly expanded. Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. (Section 45, Grave 245)
Section 46
*Capt. Bobbie E. Brown, U.S. Army (1903–1971) — This Medal of Honor recipient was wounded 13 times in World War II, and also received eight Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars and the Bronze Star. Born in Georgia, Brown enlisted in the Army to escape a life of rural poverty, serving for more than 20 years before being commissioned as a captain in the 18th Infantry Regiment's "Charlie" Company. In Aachen, Germany, on the night of Oct. 8, 1944, Capt. Brown charged German lines three times, deliberately drawing enemy fire in order to locate gun emplacements. His actions helped U.S. forces to secure Aachen, the first German city captured by the Allies. (Section 46, Grave 1021-17)
*Maj. Audie L. Murphy, U.S. Army (1924–1971) — World War II Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history. Growing up in poverty on a Texas farm, Murphy altered his birth certificate in order to enlist in the Army at age 17, a year before he was eligible. As a soldier of the 15th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, he fought in North Africa, Italy and France. He received every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. He earned the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off an entire company of Germans for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, and then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition. Murphy returned home to a hero's welcome. Actor James Cagney convinced him to pursue a career in Hollywood, and Murphy acted in more than 40 films, including "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951), "Gunsmoke" (1953) and "To Hell and Back" (1955, based on Murphy's own memoir of his war experiences). He tragically died in a plane crash in 1971. (Section 46, Grave 366-11)
Section 48
Staff Sgt. William R. Spates Jr., U.S. Army (1939–1965) — Staff Sgt. Spates, a first relief commander at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was the first Tomb Guard to be killed in action. He enlisted in the Army in 1957 and was assigned to 1st Battalion (Reinforced), 3rd Infantry Regiment (the "Old Guard") in 1963. Spates requested assignment in Vietnam, however, and was detailed to the 23rd Vietnamese Ranger Battalion in Pleiku, South Vietnam. On Oct. 25, 1965, a mortar strike killed the 26-year-old soldier as he was defending the base against an enemy attack. He was laid to rest near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as he had requested. (Section 48, Grave 432)
Section 51
Cpl. Rene A. Gagnon, U.S. Marine Corps (1925–1979) — Cpl. Rene Gagnon was once believed to be one of the six Marines depicted in Associate Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph, "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima," which inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial. Based on digital photography research, the Marine Corps now believes that he was misidentified, and that the individual believed to be Gagnon was, in fact, Pfc. Harold "Pie" Keller. Even if he was not in the photograph, however, Gagnon did participate in raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945. Gagnon was drafted in 1943 and fought on Iwo Jima with E Company, 2nd Battalion. (Section 51, Grave 543)
Section 54
Lt. Col. Hector Santa Anna, U.S. Air Force — This decorated World War II B-17 bomber pilot, Berlin Airlift pilot and career military leader had a memorable last name: Santa Anna happened to be the great-great nephew of Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who famously led the siege of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution of 1836. In July 1943, he completed his flight training at Brooks Army Air Field in San Antonio, Texas (ironically, near the Alamo). Among the 97 cadets in his class, Santa Anna was the only Latino. The Army utilized Santa Anna’s bilingualism by assigning him to train Central and South American military pilots at Waco Army Air Field in Texas. He volunteered for combat duty in August 1944 and, in October, deployed to England with the 486th Bomb Group, 3rd Bomb Wing, of the 8th Air Force. He flew 35 combat missions over Western Europe, earning two Distinguished Service Medals, five Air Medals and a Commendation Medal. After the war, Santa Anna continued his military career in the newly-created U.S. Air Force. During the Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949, he flew 127 missions in support of Allied efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Soviet-blockaded Berlin. After retiring from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in June 1964, Santa Anna held leadership positions at NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. During the administration of President Richard Nixon, he served as the Office of Equal Opportunity’s White House representative and a member of the president’s Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish-Speaking People. (Section 54, Grave 571)
Lt. Col. Betty Jane "BJ" Williams, U.S. Air Force (1919–2008) — Betty Jane “BJ” Williams was a pioneering pilot, educator and promoter of aviation. She earned her private pilot’s license in 1941, and during World War II, she served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) as an engineering test pilot. After the WASP was disbanded in December 1944, Williams continued her aviation career as a commercial pilot, flight instructor and aerospace engineering technical writer. Commissioned as an Air Force officer during the Korean War, she produced training and motivational programs as part of the Air Force’s first video production squadron. She then served in the Air Force Reserves as a public affairs officer, retiring in 1979 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. (Section 54, Grave 2972)
Section 55
Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1926–2014) — The first Asian American officer in the Marine Corps, Kurt Chew-Een Lee was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1944 and received his commission in 1946. During the first few months of the Korean War, Lee, then a first lieutenant, commanded a machine gun platoon which advanced deep into northeastern Korea. On the night of November 2, 1950, he trekked into the mountains, amidst blizzard conditions, on a solo reconnaissance mission. Encountering Chinese troops, he began yelling in Mandarin to confuse them and to expose their position. As a result of his actions, his unit was able to take a Chinese base, and he received the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. Lee also earned a Silver Star for his actions in the famous Battle of Chosin Reservoir, in which he was severely wounded. Lee subsequently served in the Vietnam War as an intelligence officer, and he retired from the Marines in 1968 at the rank of major. Kurt Chew-Een Lee’s record of service not only honored his country, but also refuted anti-Asian stereotypes: “I wanted to dispel the notion about the Chinese being meek, bland and obsequious,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. (Section 55, Grave 4970)
Section 59
Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, U.S. Navy (1906–1992) — Rear Adm. Grace Hopper was a mathematician and a pioneer in computer science. At a time when few women pursued science or engineering degrees, Hopper earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University in 1934. She taught mathematics at Vassar College (her undergraduate alma mater) until 1943, when she joined the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve). After graduating from midshipman's school, she was commissioned as a lieutenant junior grade. Assigned to the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard University, Hopper worked on Mark I, the first large-scale fully automatic calculator (a precursor of the computer). After the war, she remained at the Harvard Computation Lab for four years as a research fellow. In 1949, Hopper joined the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, where she helped to develop the UNIVAC I, the first general-purpose electronic computer. She retired from the Naval Reserve in late 1966, but was recalled to active duty less than a year later, in August 1967. From 1967 to 1977, she directed the Navy Programming Languages Group in the Navy's Office of Information System Planning. When Rear Adm. Hopper retired from the Navy in 1986 at the age of 79, she was the oldest commissioned naval officer on active duty. (Section 59, Grave 973)
Section 60
Col. Paul L. Bates, U.S. Army (1908–1995) — During World War II, Bates commanded the 761st Tank Battalion, which fought for 183 straight days in France and Germany. In 1978, the unit received Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action. Col. Bates was the first member of the battalion to be wounded in combat. (Section 60, Grave 6101)
Lt. Kara Spears Hultgreen, U.S. Navy (1965–1994) — Kara Spears Hultgreen was the first female carrier-based fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy, and the first woman to qualify as an F-14 combat pilot. She died on October 25, 1994 when her F-14 Tomcat crashed into the Pacific Ocean while making a final approach to the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. (Section 60, Grave 7710)
Brig. Gen. Hazel W. Johnson-Brown, U.S. Army (1927–2011) — The first Black woman general in the U.S. Army, Johnson-Brown became chief of the Army Nurse Corps, and received a promotion to brigadier general, in 1979. She fjoined the Army as a nurse in 1955, and served as a staff nurse in Japan and chief nurse in South Korea. From 1976 to 1978, she directed the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing. (Section 60, Grave 9836)
Master Sgt. Catherine Murray, U.S. Marine Corps (1917–2017) — On December 7, 1941, Catherine Murray decided to enlist in the military after hearing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio announcement of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She served with a motor transport unit in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. After World War II, Murray was one of 50 women who continued to actively serve in the Marines. For the next two decades, she served at 15 duty stations and assumed a wide range of responsibilities. While stationed at Quantico, she wrote the manuals used to train future female Marines. In 1962, Murray became the first enlisted female Marine to retire from active duty, at the rank of master sergeant. She died in 2017 at the age of 100. (Section 60, Grave 1170)
Brig. Gen. Bernardo Carlos Negrete, U.S. Army (1951-2005) — Brig. Gen. Bernardo Carlos Negrete, who came to the United States as a 10-year-old Cuban refugee, spent 30 years in the U.S. Army. He completed four combat tours, serving in Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada), Operation Just Cause (Panama), Operation Desert Shield/Storm (Saudi Arabia and Iraq) and Operation Desert Thunder (Kuwait). In his final posting, as deputy commanding general of Army Recruiting Command West, he made special efforts to recruit Hispanic Americans for military service. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal. (Section 60, Grave 2962)
Gen. Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army (1937–2021) — Vietnam veteran Gen. Colin Powell was the first African American to hold three of the U.S. government’s highest positions: national security advisor (1987-1989), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005). The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell grew up in the South Bronx and enrolled in Army ROTC during college. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1958. By 1989, he had risen to the rank of four-star general. His many awards and decorations include two Presidential Medals of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. (Section 60, Grave 11917)
Section 64
Master Sgt. Allie G. Harshaw, U.S. Air Force (1918–2013) — Allie Harshaw served with the renowned Tuskegee Airmen and the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only Black Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit to serve overseas during World War II. She graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, a historically Black university, in 1940, and later earned a Ph.D. in Human Behavior from the United States International University at San Diego, California. In 1943, she enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and served as a physical therapy technician with the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military. She then served in the "Six Triple Eight." Harshaw transferred to the U.S. Air Force after its creation in 1947 and served through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, retiring in 1973. Harshaw was the first Black female Air Force master sergeant to retire with thirty years of military service. In 2007, she received the Congressional Gold Medal for her service with the Tuskegee Airmen. (Section 64, Grave 5494)
Col. Ruth Lucas, U.S. Air Force (1920–2013) — During World War II, Ruth Lucas enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and became one of the few Black women to attend what is now the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. She transferred from the Army to the Air Force in 1947, where she stayed for the remainder of her military career. While stationed in Tokyo, Japan as chief of the Air Force Awards Division (1951-1954), she spent much of her free time teaching English to Japanese students. Upon returning to the United States, she earned a graduate degree in educational psychology from Columbia University. She was then transferred to Washington, D.C. to develop educational programs for service members. In 1968, she became the first Black woman promoted to colonel in the Air Force. She also received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, awarded for outstanding non-combat service. (Section 64, Grave 6031)
Section 65
Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, U.S. Air Force (1921–2010) — The first woman to serve as a major general in the U.S. armed forces, Maj. Gen. Holm had a long and distinguished career in the Air Force. She enlisted in the Army in 1942, soon after the establishment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She transferred to the Air Force in 1949 and was appointed director of Women in the Air Force (WAF) in 1965. During her tenure as director, policies affecting women were updated, WAF strength more than doubled and job and assignment opportunities greatly expanded. Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. (Section 45, Grave 245)
Section 66
Vice Adm. Samuel Lee Gravely Jr., U.S. Navy (1922–2004) — The first African American to rise to the rank of vice admiral, the first to command a warship and the first to command a U.S. fleet, Vice Adm. Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. served in the Navy for nearly 40 years, from 1942 to 1980. During World War II, he was the only African American officer on the USS PC-1264, a submarine chaser with a predominately Black crew. During the Vietnam War, when he took command of the destroyer escort USS Falgout, he became the first African American officer to command a combat ship. From 1976 to 1978, he commanded the Hawaii-based Third Fleet, and then directed the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) until his retirement. (Section 66, Grave 7417)
Columbarium
Tech Sgt. 5 Mary Crawford Ragland, U.S. Army (1922–2010) — Ragland served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-minority, all-female Women’s Army Corps (WAC) unit to serve overseas during World War II. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, she enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school. After basic training, she sailed with her unit to England, arriving in Birmingham in March 1945. Ragland worked as a clerk for the 6888th, whose mission was to clear a two-year backlog of mail sent to U.S. service members fighting in Europe. She helped the unit complete its mission, which was expected to take six months, in only three months. When the war in Europe ended in May 1945, she traveled with her unit to Rouen, France, where they processed another two-year backlog of mail in three months. She later said of her service, “We represented our country, our organization and ourselves. We were so proud.” (Columbarium Court 7, Section PP, Column 2, Niche 5)
* denotes Medal of Honor recipient
** denotes two Medals of Honor