Fort Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage, AK - Veteran Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Burial Space: This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains.
Acreage: 39.0
Number of Interments
Thru Fiscal Year 2008: 4,920
Fort Richardson National Cemetery is located on an active Army Post. Access to the cemetery through the post is sometimes restricted, depending upon the Army's security status. All individuals who do not possess a current active duty, military retiree or family identification card must be able to show proper civilian identification along with vehicle registration and proof of insurance before access to the post is permitted. After periods of heavy snowfall, access to individual gravesites is quite difficult.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Fort Richardson National Cemetery is located on the Fort Richardson Military Reservation in Anchorage, Alaska. During World War II, 39 acres of Fort Richardson were set aside for use as a temporary burial site where deceased soldiers—regardless of nationality—could be laid to rest. Under the international program for the return of war dead, most of the soldiers interred at Fort Richardson were returned to their families. There were, however, some soldiers who remained buried at Fort Richardson either because the next of kin could not be found or their families requested that they remain interred in Alaska.

In December 1946, the temporary cemetery at Fort Richardson was made a permanent site. Initially there were two sections in the cemetery. The remains of Allied soldiers were buried within a fenced area referred to as the “Allied Plot.” Japanese soldiers who died in battles for the Aleutian Islands were buried outside the fence in an area designated as the “Enemy Plot.” In July 1953, the 235 Japanese war dead buried at Fort Richardson were disinterred for proper cremation with appropriate Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies, under the supervision of the Japanese Embassy. In May 1981, a group of Japanese citizens in Anchorage had a new marker made to remember the soldiers who, in death, remain far from home.

Perhaps the most famous resident of Fort Richardson National Cemetery was Kermit Roosevelt, son of the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt. Kermit, who had held previous commissions in the Army, was assigned to Fort Richardson with a specific billet but worked hard to create a niche for himself. He often accompanied pilots on their missions over the Aleutian Islands and played an active role in recruiting the native Alaskan tribes to join a territorial militia. Roosevelt died at Fort Richardson June 3, 1943. His wife, Belle Roosevelt, advised then Chief of Staff General Dwight D. Eisenhower, that she wished for Kermit to be buried at the site. His father, she conveyed, had always said: “Where a tree falls, there let it lay.”

On May 28, 1984, Fort Richardson Post Cemetery became Fort Richardson National Cemetery under the administration of the National Cemetery System. At the time of the transfer, all but 700 of the 2,000 gravesites had been used or reserved.

Date cemetery was established: December 1946 Visiting hours: Visitation Hours: Winter: Open daily from dawn to dusk Summer: Open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Holidays: Open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Website pertaining to the cemetery: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit.

We would also like to hear about any of your deceased family members who may be laid to rest in the cemetery.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/14/2012 Airborne60MM visited it 12/13/2009 li1gray visited it

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