Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Jump forward again to 2001. That is the year my mother in law died. It was rather an unsettling death and necessitated my wife to act as executor of the estate. During the process of cleaning out her home my wife found her dads remains in the closet. We brought them home and placed them on the shelf next to each other. But what to do with them? We had no clear directive from either of what to do with the cremains after they passed so we were stuck. Add to that a rough and rocky relationship with the remaining family and we became paralyzed with grief.

Yes, even those of us who deal with death on a daily basis can have problems with the subject when it affects us personally.  So for 6 years my wife walked by her parents on the shelf in the study unsure of what we were to do with them. Recently though we had another of those what to do talks and I mentioned that her dad had been in the Army and surely had Veterans benefits related to burial at a Veterans Cemetery.

I did a little research and found a Military/Veterans Cemetery we could check out in the San Diego area. Shortly thereafter we set out to check out the place first hand. The moment we drove onto the grounds we were certain we had found the right spot for her parents remains. The journey would soon be over.

Through many phone calls, faxes, letters for official records my wife battled through the government system until she had all the correct paperwork and a date set for internment of the cremains. One last piece of paperwork we had to complete the day before and that was to obtain burial permits through a County office. This really ticked me off having to pay the County to bury a Veteran and his wife on Federal Government property.

The next morning we set off early to do some sight seeing prior to the service. We stopped at Cabrillo National Monument and sat transfixed watching the Naval Vessels enter the harbor. Throughout the time we were at Cabrillo we were serenaded by the sweet sound of Military jets and helicopters. There is no more pleasant sound to me than the roar of a fighter jet as it banks directly over my head and takes off out over the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.

Looking at Fort Rosecrans from Cabrillo National Monument. 

Entrance to Fort Rosecrans

After sitting watching the jets and ships for several hours we headed to the Cemetery to set up for the service. One small problem ensued though. When we retrieved the in-laws from the trunk mom-in-law was leaking. In fact just as I picked up the box a gust of wind carried some of the ashes into my mouth. Let me tell you human remains don't taste good at all. So here I stand with people milling around in the middle of a sacred Veterans Cemetery with a mouth full of ash. I started to spit but realized that others not having seen the ingestion of the ash might not realize I'm not spitting out something but spitting on someone.

I looked around trying to come up with an idea how to handle the situation. Finally after a short time I dug around in the car and came up with a bottle of water. I took a big swig and rinsed my mouth and swallowed. I repeated this several times until I could no longer feel the grit, but the horrible taste lingered on for long after.

We went into the office and explained we needed some packing tape because mom was leaking. The girl behind the counter looked a little distressed but handed over the tape and we fixed the problem.

The rest of the family arrived and we proceeded to the ceremonial area where three Army Soldiers were standing at attention with an American Flag. We sat as the Army Officer directed the ceremony presenting the colors and honoring an old Veteran. It was very moving and I pray God blesses those soldiers mightily. We all stood while Taps was played and I gave a final salute in slow respectful silence with the three Army soldiers. After display of the colors the soldiers refolded the flag and presented it to my brother-in-law who was visibly moved by the presentation.

The Father spoke some comforting words and led us in prayer and we headed to the columbarium to place the cremains. My wife placed her mom in the tomb and my brother-in-law placed his father in the tomb.  We then watched as the cover was placed as a temporary measure. The final cover will arrive in about a month. We will visit after it is placed.

Below are some pictures I took while there. This is Fort Rosecrans National Memorial Cemetery on Point Loma in San Diego. On the west one overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Without taking a step one may turn around and see San Diego Bay and Naval Air Station North Island in the other direction. I have traveled the length and breadth of California and seen many wonderful places but nothing as moving as standing in the center of Fort Rosecrans and seeing thousands of white headstones in neat rows. Currently there are over 70,000 remains at Fort Rosecrans.

It was a busy place. Currently they are processing about 350-500 families a month.

And as a reminder that flag in the upper right (as you face the screen) is a picture of the flag that flies over the National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix.

One last image. Us sitting on the beach at Oceanside after the service. What a way to end a great day.

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