Long Island National Cemetery

Long Island National Cemetery
File:LI Natl Cemetery jeh.JPG Long Island National Cemetery
Details
Established	1936
Location	Suffolk County, New York
Country	United States
Type	United States National Cemetery
Owned by	U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs
Size	364.7 acres (147.6 ha)
No. of graves	357,000+
Website	Official
Find a Grave	Long Island National Cemetery
Long Island National Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Wyandanch and Melville, NY
Coordinates
NRHP reference No.	[[[:Template:NRHP Focus]] 16000113]
Added to NRHP	March 22, 2016

Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue (County Road 3) – these include Pinelawn Memorial Park, St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries, Beth Moses, New Montefiore and Mt. Ararat Cemeteries. Its mailing address is Farmingdale (postal code 11735). It borders East Farmingdale along its western edge and is located within the CDPS of Wyandanch (to the east), in the Town of Babylon, and Melville (to the north) in the Town of Huntington. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 364.7 acres (147.6 ha), and as of 2021, had more than 357,000 interments.

In 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Long Island National Cemetery was established in 1936 with a purchase of 175 acres (71 ha) of land from Pinelawn Cemetery (a neighboring cemetery) to answer a need after World War I of a large number of veterans, and not enough burial space in the urban cemeteries in New York City. At the time the only National Cemetery in the area was Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, and it had very limited area available. The land was developed and burials began in March 1937. Within its first 8 years, it saw over 10,000 interments from World War II.

A section of the cemetery has the interments of World War II prisoners of war, including 37 Germans and 54 Italians. There are also 35 British Commonwealth servicemen buried here from the same war.

File:LI Natl Cemetery marker jeh.JPG

1940 marker

Notable monuments

• A granite memorial to "Fallen Comrades of Nassau & Suffolk Counties" was erected in 1940.

Notable interments

• Medal of Honor recipients

Seaman First Class Heinrich Behnke (1882–1952), for peacetime service aboard USS Iowa
Corporal Anthony Casamento (1920–1987), for action at the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II
Gunner's Mate Third Class John Everetts (1877–1956), for peacetime service aboard USS Cushing
Gunner's Mate Third Class Robert Galbraith (1878–1949), for action in the Philippine–American War
Boatswain's Mate William Henry Gowan (1884–1957), for peacetime service in Coquimbo, Chile
Captain Sydney G. Gumpertz (1879–1971), for action in World War I
Chief Watertender August Holtz (1871–1938), for peacetime service aboard USS North Dakota
Pl Sgt Joseph R. Julian (1918–1945Template:KIA), for action on Iwo Jima
First Lieutenant Stephen Edward Karopczyc (1944–1967Template:KIA), for action in the Vietnam War
Specialist Five John James Kedenburg (1946–1968Template:KIA), for action in the Vietnam War
Private First Class Carlos James Lozada (1946–1967Template:KIA), for action at the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War
Landsman Thomas Mitchell (1857–1942), for peacetime service aboard USS Richmond
Chief Boatswain's Mate Lauritz Nelson (1860–1941), for action aboard USS Nashville during the Spanish–American War
Sergeant Alfred B. Nietzel (1921–1944Template:KIA),for action in World War II
First Lieutenant Bernard James Ray (1921–1944Template:KIA), for action in World War II
Staff Sergeant Joseph Edward Schaefer (1921–1994), for action in World War II
Second Lieutenant Charles William Shea (1921–1994), for action in World War II
Private First Class William Henry Thompson (1927–1950Template:KIA), for action in the Korean War
Private Michael Valente (1895–1976), for action in World War I
Seaman James Aloysius Walsh (1897–1960), for action aboard USS Florida during the US occupation of Veracruz, Mexico
First Lieutenant John Earl Warren (1946–1969Template:KIA), for action in the Vietnam War

• Others

Count Basie, jazz musician
Frank John Becker, US Congressman, World War I veteran

William Breitenbach, New York assemblyman, World War I veteran

Captain Lewis Broadus, Buffalo Soldier, veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippean–American War, and World War I
Albert W. Brosch, professional golfer and World War II veteran
T. Frederick Candlyn, organist, church musician and composer, World War I veteran
Alice Coltrane, jazz musician
John Coltrane, jazz musician
Captain Leon Dabo, artist, World War I veteran
Henry Dumas, writer and poet
Mignon G. Eberhart, author
James Fay, US Congressman, World War I veteran
Max Gerlach, bootlegger who inspired the character of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby
Enya Gonzalez, singer
Maurice Gosfield, comic actor and voice of Benny the Ball in Top Cat
Helen Kane, singer and model for Betty Boop
Guy Lombardo, jazz musician and bandleader
Granville 'Stick' McGhee, musician
Lionel Monagas, actor, World War I veteran
Jules Munshin, comedian, actor
William Redfield, actor, WWII infantryman
Frank Silvera, actor
Joe Simon, comic book writer and artist, co-creator of Captain America
Zutty Singleton, jazz musician
Richard J. Tonry, US Congressman, World War I veteran
Roy J. Waldron, racehorse trainer who won the 1940 Kentucky Derby

See also

• List of cemeteries in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Babylon (town), New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Huntington (town), New York

External links

• National Cemetery Administration
• Long Island National Cemetery
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. NY-3, "Long Island National Cemetery"
• [[[:Template:GNIS URL]] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Long Island National Cemetery]
• Long Island National Cemetery at Find a Grave