MARE ISLAND CEMETERY ‘THE MOST SPECIAL OF PLACES’
Hundreds come to ceremony, tour grounds to pay their respects
Due to it being Veterans Day on Wednesday, city offices were closed and so were many business establishments in Vallejo. However, that didn’t stop a few hundred people from coming out to Mare Island Cemetery to pay tribute to veterans past and present.
A ceremony was held just outside the cemetery with speakers such as Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Major General Jay Coggan, Major General Matthew Baker, Cal Maritime President Thomas A. Cropper and Colonel Chad Kirchner. Bagpipes were played by Scottish American Military Society’s Chuck Jamison, while “TAPS” was played by the U. S. Air Force Band of the Golden West from Travis Air Force Base.
“Today is the most special of days in the most special of places as we remember the duty and sacrifice of all our veterans, living and departed who have served our great country, guarded our nation and her ideals and protected our citizens from harm, both in times of peace and times of war,” Kounalakis said in a keynote address on behalf of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We want to show the same dignity and same care to those who silently who stand in their eternal final formations in Arlington, Normandy and North Africa and the Philippines and closer to home here in San Francisco,” Kounalakis continued. “I know that many are responsible for the work that has been done to restore this special place. But let me recognize in particular U. S. Representative Mike Thompson, who is a veteran and was wounded in Vietnam, but who has also worked tirelessly to enact the legislation required in the House of Representatives to return this ceremony to the jurisdiction of the U.S. government.”
Afterword, the crowd, filled with many veterans, were allowed to tour the cemetery, which has gone though a major restoration over the past few years by the 801st Engineering Company.
“I’m in tears today. I’m just amazed at the job done with the cemetery done by the city and the soldiers here” veteran and military activist Nestor Aliga said. “I’m sad today that there are so many fallen heroes all over the world, but it’s tempered because I’m also happy that we get a chance to honor those heroes today.”
Veteran Don Ockrassa felt the same way.
“It’s certainly not sadness for passing away because we all do that eventually,” Ockrassa said. “I think it’s more a celebration of all the small contributions everyone made to the greater
good and the isolation that some veterans felt and still feel today, even if they didn’t go through combat. For me, I spent seven years working at Mare Island, so I had a lot of close friends here. I still reflect on their sacrifices they made.”
Sampayan, who also acted as Master of Ceremonies, read a proclamation from the City of Vallejo.
“Since our great nation’s birth, our beloved America has been blessed with an infinite chain of patriotic heroes who have served or are serving our Armed Forces with honor and distinction,” Sampayan read. “And from the bombs bursting in air during the War of 1812, to the hills of Montezuma in the Mexican-American War, the naval battles of the Spanish-American War, the Flanders Fields of World War I, the skies in Europe in World War II, the frozen tundras of Korea, the rice paddies of of Vietnam and the deserts and mountains of Southwest Asia during Operation Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism, generations of our brave warriors have valiantly fought our countries battles in the land, the air and the sea.”
Sampayan also gave thanks to the 801st Engineering Company who have helped restore the cemetery.
“When I first became mayor in 2016 I had a phone call early on from a retired U. S. Navy Caption Ralph Parrott, and boy did he scream at me for a while,” Sampayan said. “He told me how we disgraced the cemetery and what a disgrace it was to those buried here and how we disgraced the military services and veterans. I’ve been up here just one time and it sat in my heart to see the condition this magnificent cemetery was in. Shortly after we started making phone calls to the city manager and members of our management team of what we could do to restore this cemetery back to its original condition.
“Where it is today is a definite change and a respectful change to those who have been buried here,” Sampayan continued. “We as a city are honored to have all of you here to celebrate and rededicate our cemetery.”
The cemetery is the oldest naval cemetery on the West Coast and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. It has three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients — James Cooney, Alexander Parker and William Halford. Also, Halford’s great grandson, Ralph, was on hand at the ceremony and brought a compass that was used by William.
The IRT suspended their work in March 2020 due to COVID-19, and the preserve was reopened in May for limited public access every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Vallejo closed the Mare Island Preserve in October 2019 after a series of wildfires burned over 40 acres. Since the fire, Vallejo staff has addressed various wildfire-related issues on the open space, including shoring up burned areas and addressing safety issues resulting from severe fire damage. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, repairs for the cemetery have been slowed down, but the IRT resumed construction in early September.
“Well, COVID-19 has sure slowed the progression of our progress,” said 1 SG Matthew Knasick of the 801st Engineering Company. “There have also been days where the heat and the fires slowed us down. We also had the apocalyptic day where the sky was orange. The limited equipment we had was another factor.”
Still, 1 Lt. Jessica Campbell, the program manager for the 901st, said she was really proud of the job the team did.
“This was one of 16 programs we had slated for 2020 and one of the four that were successfully completed,” Campbell said. “The amount of work that the 801st put in is one of the most accomplished engineering projects for the IRT that I’ve ever seen.”
Many people who strolled the graveyard on Wednesday came up and commended the 801st, which stayed awhile to take pictures and give history lessons on the historic place.
“It feels good to hear the compliments,” 1 SG Sgt. Patrick Mooney said. “It feels good to have done something local and help the community.”
Ockrassa, one of many veterans at the event, said he often was thanked for his service during the day.
“It makes me feel good that people would say that even though they don’t know specifically what I did,” Ockrassa said. “I go through and look at all these graves and wonder what happened to all these people. Did they drown? Were they young or not. You just wonder about all the stories they had and then you thank them.”