GENERAL INFORMATION

Military Funeral Honors
The Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery Memorial Service Detachment (MSD) is available Monday through Friday to provide military funeral honors for veterans. MSD teams are volunteers. They complement the services provided by the Department of Defense. They ensure that all veterans are provided the rifle salute and taps. All military funeral honors performed by the MSD are provided at no cost to the family. Contact the cemetery office for scheduling information for the MSD.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is located in San Antonio, Texas, adjoining the Fort Sam Houston Military Post. As early as 1846, the residents of San Antonio attempted to establish a permanent military facility in their town. During the Mexican War, the U.S. Army established a quartermaster depot at San Antonio and a training camp at San Pedro Spring. In 1849, San Antonio was named the headquarters of the U.S. Army, Eighth Military District and the Alamo was leased from the Catholic Church to use as a storage facility.

A formal request for an Army post was made in 1870, but Secretary of War W. W. Belknap opposed it. As a result, funding was delayed until 1875 and construction of the fort on 93 acres donated by the city did not begin until June 1876. In 1885 and 1891, 43 acres and 60 buildings were added, respectively, to what would become the post. In 1890 the military post at San Antonio was re-designated Fort Sam Houston by President Benjamin Harrison. Prominent visitors to the post included Chief Geronimo, who was held there in 1886 before his exile to Florida and Theodore Roosevelt, who stopped with his men at the base to receive provisions before leaving for Cuba in 1898.

By 1917 the installation had been raised to general depot status and was supplying the Mexican frontier, including troops engaged in General John J. Pershing's pursuit of Francisco “Pancho” Villa. In 1940, it was the largest army post in the United States and it served as a major internment center for prisoners of war during World War II. By 1949, Fort Sam Houston had 1,500 buildings on more than 3,300 acres and was the headquarters for the Fourth U.S. Army.

Although the post was established in 1875, the land upon which Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is located did not become a burial ground until approximately half a century later. Interments of men from the post were made in a portion of the city cemetery until 1867, when the United States acquired the tract by donation from the city government and designated it San Antonio National Cemetery. Even at that early date, the city completely surrounded the new national cemetery and the possibility for expansion was extremely limited. As the years passed, the number of military personnel grew with a corresponding increase in the number of post deaths. This created a need for more burial facilities.

In recognition of this need, in 1924 a portion of the military reservation was set aside to be used as a post cemetery. The first interment was made two years later in 1926. On Aug. 6, 1931, the War Department announced the transfer of 60 acres, including the post cemetery, from the military reservation and designated the tract an addition to San Antonio National Cemetery. It retained this status until 1937 when the War Department formally renamed it Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Remains from one-time frontier posts in Texas such as Fort Ringgold, Fort Clark, and Fort McIntosh were reinterred in Fort Sam Houston when those facilities closed in 1947.

Monuments and Memorials
Fort Sam Houston features a memorial pathway lined with a variety of memorials, donated by various organizations, that honor America’s veterans. Most commemorate soldiers of the 20th-century wars.
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NOTABLE BURIALS

Medal of Honor Recipients
Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez (Vietnam), US Army, Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group. West of Loc Ninh, Republic of Vietnam, May 2, 1968 (Section AI, Grave 553).

Colonel Cecil Hamilton Bolton (World War II), US Army, Company E, 413th and 104th Infantry. Mark River, Holland, Nov. 2, 1944 (Section PC, Grave 22-J).

Staff Sergeant William J. Bordelon (World War II), US Marine Corps, 1st Battalion, 18th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Nov. 20, 1943 (Section AI, Grave 558).

Platoon Sergeant William George Harrell (World War II), US Marine Corps, 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, March 3, 1945 (Section W, Grave 3247).

Second Lieutenant Lloyd H. Hughes (World War II), US Army Air Corps, 564th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force. Ploesti Radi, Rumania, Aug. 1, 1943 (Section U, Grave 53).

Private Milton A. Lee (Vietnam), US Army, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). Near Phu Bai, Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, April 26, 1968 (Section X, Grave 2475).

First Lieutenant James E. Robinson, Jr. (World War II), US Army, Battery A, 861st Field Artillery Battalion, 63rd Infantry Division. Near Untergriesheim, Germany, April 6, 1945 (Section T, Grave 98).

Master Sergeant Cleto Luna Rodriguez (World War II), US Army, Company B, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Paco Railroad Station, Manila, Philippine Islands, Feb. 9, 1945 (Section AI, Grave 700).

Colonel Seth Lathrop Weld (Philippine Insurrection), US Army, Company L, 8th US Infantry. La Paz, Leyte, Philippine Islands, Dec. 5, 1906 (Section AH, Grave 189).

Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams, (World War II), US Army, 30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division. Near St. Die, France, Oct. 28, 1944 (Section AI, Grave 555).

Chief Warrant Officer Louis R. Rocco, (Vietnam), US Army, Advisory Team 162, U.S. Military Assistance Command. Northeast of Katum, Republic of Vietnam, May 24, 1970 (Section AI, Grave 549).

Sergeant First Class Jose M. Lopez (World War II), U.S. Army, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division. Near Krinkelt, Belgium, Dec. 17, 1944 (Section AI, Grave 542).

Other Burials
Twenty-seven Buffalo soldiers from the 9th and 10th Cavalry who served during the Indian Wars are interred in Section PE. Their remains were initially buried in the frontier forts where they were assigned, such as Fort Clark, Fort McIntosh, and Fort Ringgold. As these frontier posts were closed, the remains were disinterred and brought to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Captain William Randolph, for whom Randolph Air Force Base was named. He died in a plane crash in 1928. (Section Q, Grave 133)

Raymond Hatfield Gardner, otherwise known as "Arizona Bill." He was an Indian scout during the Indian Wars and served with the 5th Regiment Cavalry, Company A and C. (Section AC, Grave 287-B)

U.S. Congressman Frank Tejeda, who served as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. (Section AI, Grave 554)

Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is the resting place to 370 General Officers.
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS

Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. They will be removed on the third day after the interment service.

Fresh cut and artificial flowers may be placed on the graves at any time. Temporary flower containers are available.

All floral items and other decorations will be removed from the graves on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month with the exception of December and January. Pick-up dates will be posted. This allows families to reclaim personal items before the scheduled pick-up.

Planting will not be permitted on graves at any time.

Christmas decorations, wreaths, and grave blankets are permitted on graves during the period Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. Grave floral blankets may not be larger than two by three feet.

Items are removed as soon as identified if they are unsightly, present safety hazards, or blown off graves by wind.

Statues, vigil lights, breakable objects of any nature, and similar commemorative items are not permitted on graves at any time.

Floral items and other types of decorations will not be secured to headstones or markers.

All unauthorized tributes, to include flags of any kind, will be removed from the gravesite by cemetery personnel.
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