MARINE ONE - ISSUE 001 - JULY 2009
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO ALL ACTIVE & NON-ACTIVE
U. S. MARINES WHO TRAINED AT MCRD OR PARIS ISLAND IN THE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Riverside National Cemetery
At 921 acres, Riverside National
Cemetery in Riverside, California
is the third-largest cemetery
managed by the National
Cemetery Administration, and
since 2000 has been the most
active in the system based on
the number of interments.
It was established in 1976
through the transfer of 740
acres from March Air Force Base,
a section that during World War
II was called Camp William G.
Haan. During WWII, Camp Haan
was used as a training base for
coast artillery and anti-aircraft
and also housed a prisoner-of-
war camp for captured Italian
soldiers.
The site was selected in 1976 to
provide full burial options for
Southern California veterans
and their families by President
Ford’s Commission for National
Cemeteries and Monuments.
The cemetery was dedicated and
opened for burials Nov. 11,
1978. An additional 181 acres
was transferred by the U.S. Air
Force in 2003.
With 15 Medal of Honor
recipients in attendance and the
Marine Corps’ greatest fighter
ace Joe Foss as featured
speaker, RNC was dedicated and
opened for burials Veterans Day,
Nov. 11, 1978. RNC’s first burial
was Army Staff Sgt. Ysmael
Villegas, who was awarded the
Medal of Honor for bravery at
the cost of his own life at Villa
Verde Trail on the island of
Luzon in the Philippines, March
20, 1945.
Continue --- >
He was originally buried on
Luzon, but was later transferred
to Olivewood Cemetery in his
hometown of Riverside, Calif.
Prior to the opening of RNC the
Veterans Administration asked
the Villegas family if he could
be moved again and be honored
by burial in the new National
Cemetery.
The dramatic, meandering
landscape features a central
boulevard with memorial circles,
lakes, indigenous-styled
committal shelters, and a of
memorial amphitheater.
The Medal of Honor Memorial,
whose walls feature the names
of all medal recipients, is
located at the third traffic circle
in the cemetery. It was
dedicated at a ceremony
attended by 85 Medal of Honor
recipients November 5, 1999. ->
JIM - STEVE & HENRY AT
RIVERSIDE NATIONAL CEMETERY
SEMPER FI #1 RECRUITER BLAIR HOLM
The Statue “Veterans
Memorial,” created by
Colorado sculptor A.
Thomas Schomberg, in
commemoration of the
veterans, their comrades,
their personal and
emotional sacrifices and
to acknowledge those
Americans who have lost
loved ones in the service
of their country.
The statue consists of a
12-foot pedestal, on top of
which lies the lifeless body
a soldier partially
covered with a poncho
that hides the face.
The unidentified soldier
whether a man or woman,
private or officer, will
forever remain in silent
tribute to every American
who has given his or her
life in combat.
The statue was donated to
the Riverside National
Cemetery by Thomas F.
and Judy Kane and was
dedicated May 28, 2000.
The Prisoner of
War/Missing in Action
Memorial was designated a
National Memorial by the
U.S. Congress and
dedicated Sept. 16, 2005.
A bronze statue, sculpted
by Vietnam veteran Lewis
Lee Millett, Jr. is the
image of an American
serviceman on his knees
and bound by his captors.
The statue is surrounded
by black marble pillars
representing
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imprisonment.
 SEMPER FI #1 AT MCRD - JUNE 19 2009

RIVERSIDE NATIONAL CEMETERY - JULY 10 2009

MARINE ONE NEWSLETTER

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