Photo By Sophia Espinosa | A look at a 3D scan of the Mare Island Naval Cemetery... read more read more
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VALLEJO, California --- For many, cemeteries are a place of remembrance, honor and peace. On top of that, for a group of researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), cemeteries also hold a significant amount of respect and history.
"We have a due diligence as the federal government and as the Department of Defense to honor those that have passed. Military cemeteries are excellent examples of history and landscape design," said Megan Tooker, a research landscape architect.
That’s why a current project is holding more weight for the Cultural Resources (CR) team at ERDC's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). The CR team tackled four reports to help restore, maintain and preserve Mare Island's Naval Cemetery in Vallejo, California, the nation's oldest West Coast Naval cemetery. This cemetery is the final resting place for Sailors, Marines, civilians and their loved ones. It's filled with veterans who served as far back as the War of 1812 and also includes the grave of the daughter of Francis Scott Key.
The ERDC team is putting together reports that include a historic landscape inventory, a geotechnical technical survey, a cultural landscape management plan, as well as a headstone inventory and scanning report.
In 1975, Mare Island Naval Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and named an National Historic Landmark (NHL). The cemetery was transferred from the city of Vallejo to the Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration (VA NCA) in November 2023. CERL is providing the VA NCA with recommendations on how to rehabilitate the cemetery back to its historic character and bring it into compliance with the standards of other VA cemeteries.
"The inventory report is complete, which includes a history of the cemetery, its historic landscape features and changes to the cemetery over time," said Tooker, a CERL research landscape architect and the Principal Investigator on this project.
CERL’s research included the history of the burials beginning in 1856, the notable people resting there (mainly Sailors, Marines and their families), the style and materials of the markers and monuments and the landscape of the area, as well as the condition and maintenance issues of the cemetery.
"The cemetery had a wonderful collection of plants and trees, but unfortunately due to a fire and poor condition of trees after 150 years, a lot of them were cut down," Tooker said. "The cemetery is also located on a slope, and we're seeing some problems with soil slumpage. There are no trees to slow the runoff of rainy areas, and the top section of the cemetery is extremely dry, while the bottom section is very wet.”
ERDC's Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) jumped in to conduct more in-depth soil studies. The team discovered that runoff and soil slumpage have created issues with the burial markers of those interred in the cemetery.
"So basically, picture many layers of soil where the layers of soil have shifted four or five feet from where it used to be over time. Today, the markers are at an angle, so they will all need to be reset,” Tooker explained. Steps for the rehabilitation of the cemetery, including tree replanting, will be part of a management plan that is in the works.
The CERL CR team is also working on a headstone inventory and scanning report. Carey Baxter, a research archeologist, said being a part of this report is more than just work, it’s a way to fulfill a promise to those who are resting at the Mare Island Naval Cemetery.
“The promise that the government and the military make to servicemen/women when they enlist is that, if you die, we will provide you with funerary rites, with a grave site, with a headstone that we will care for in perpetuity," Baxter said. "So, you have young men and women who are volunteering to serve their country, potentially sacrificing their lives. We make them a promise, and we should keep it."
Baxter uses a high-definition terrestrial laser to document the cemetery and collect data on what headstones are there, which ones need restoration, their inscriptins and recommendations on how to restore them to a legible condition. She says some headstones have eroded to the point that they are illegible.
"We're trying to come up with the patterns, sizes, dimensions, text and the fonts on all of those nonstandard headstones so that if they need to be replaced, the National Cemetery Adminstration will cut new stones to look like the originals." Baxter explained. Karlee Fienen, a preservation intern, has been working to document all the burials, markers and create a photographic inventory of the markers for the NCA.
Apart from the historical importance this cemetery holds for the Nation, it holds significant value to the local community of Vallejo. Baxter said she saw the local community's push for the cemetery's rehabilitation, which led to the transfer of the cemetery to the NCA.
"When this cemetery fell into disrepair, the local city of Vallejo, the citizens of Vallejo, were upset about it. There were a lot of efforts and volunteer work to help clean up and try to help take care of the cemetery as best they could. So, that just demonstrates how important it is not just to military members or their descendants, but to the communities where the military installations are an important part of people’s lives." Baxter shared.
Baxter comes from a military family, and her purpose in her work extends far beyond her project at CERL.
"For military cemeteries around the world, you may be buried thousands of miles away from your family, so the people that would normally come and visit and normally come take care of things are not around to do it." Baxter said. "My dad was a civilian with the Air Force for 38 years, and a Navy veteran and, you're raised as part of the military family, so we become the family of these men and women who are buried all over the world."
She also shared that many times in her work, she uncovers stories that may not have resurfaced if it weren’t for her digging. While she says it's impossible to share all that she discovers in places other than technical reports, she knows the efforts to restore and maintain places like the Mare Island Naval Cemetery have a larger meaning.
"What we do know is that people will be visiting these cemeteries and seeing these stones," Baxter said. "It is extremely gratifying and flattering to uncover the cool stories you find in your research."
The team plans to continue their reports on Mare Island Naval Cemetery to pass on to the NCA to assist in cultural resources management decisions.
To read their first report on the Historic Landscape Inventory, click here.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2024 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 476339 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Preserving History: ERDC research aims to revive Nation's oldest West Coast Naval cemetery, by Sophia Espinosa, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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