Steps Into The Past

ANCHOR

The meaning of an anchor is twofold. There is what is most obvious, this is a naval cemetery. The anchor is a remembrance of sea service and a reminder that the anchor is placed when a ship has reached its final destination. In some cases, such as the one above, the anchor is against the ground reminding us that this sailor has come to the end of his journey and can now rest, however, in Christian Iconography the anchor is also a symbol of hope and symbol of Jesus who brings stability and keeps his followers close to him. 

LAMB

This lamb topping the gravestone of an infant is a clear indication of the innocence of the deceased. Many small monuments in the Cemetery mark the graves of infants. They remind us of a time when infant mortality rates were higher than at present. The infant section of the cemetery in section 5 marks a rarity in Military Cemeteries. In the past there were specific sections for infants, enlisted, and officers. At present, every veteran is understood as equal and their dependents are interred with them instead of in a separate section of the cemetery.

BROKEN PILLAR

GOVERNMENT HEADSTONES

The Naval Academy has traditionally allowed for the placement of private grave markers to mark burials, however many of the graves in sections 5 & 6, in particular. are marked with markers that have come to identify the graves of veterans. Similar in almost every way to those in Arlington National Cemetery or other Veteran Cemeteries, the current version was adopted by a committee that included General of the Armed Forces John J. Pershing after World War I. General Pershing, the only General of the Armed Forces to be named such during their lifetime, rests under a Government Marker in Arlington National Cemetery. To learn more about the history of the Veteran Administration markers click here. (https://www.cem.va.gov/history/hmhist.asp) Government Markers are available for in-ground burials in the Cemetery. 

"ANCHORS AWEIGH"  - LT Charles A. Zimmerman & CAPT Alfred Hart Miles 

A young graduate of the Peabody Conservatory for music in Baltimore arrived at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1887 to become its band master. When 26 year old Charles A. Zimmerman began his career at Annapolis, it is unlikely he had any aspiration or knew that he would one day compose a piece of music the entirety of the U.S. Navy would know and sing frequently. However, in 1906 MIDN Alfred Hart Miles approached LT Zimmerman with a request to write the music for a fight song for the Class of 1907. According to legend in November of 1906 the two sat at the chapel organ and wrote the song. Miles wrote the lyrics; Zimmerman composed the music and although the have undergone some revision over the years the song has been a part of Naval Academy culture since it was played at the Army-Navy Football game in December 1, 1906. LT Zimmerman is interred in Section 3, Plot 349. Miles is interred with his wife in Section 2, Plot 267. Their monument also bears a memorial inscription for their son, LT Lion Miles, who was killed in World War II. 

ADM Charles R. Larson, USN, Class of 1958

Admiral Charles R. Larson, Class of 1958, twice served as Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He additionally served as Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Command (CINCPAC). After his time as a midshipmen, ADM Larson commissioned and entered flight training. He later decided to leave Naval Aviation and transfer to Submarine Service. After several tours of duty, he was the first naval officer selected as a White House Fellow and served his fellowship in 1968 as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior. He went on to serve as first executive officer then commanding officer of various nuclear attack submarines. In 1976, Larson assumed duties as Commander, Submarine Development Group ONE in San Diego, California, California. He was later promoted to four-star rank in 1990 upon being assigned as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Navy component commander in the Pacific Theater. Larson was also a founder, director, and chairman of the board of ViaGlobal Group, also serving on several corporate boards for other corporations. Larson passed away in 2014 as a result of pneumonia after having leukemia for two years. His place of rest is Section 8; Plot 1705.

Commodore Lesilie Palmer, USN 

Commodore Leslie Nelson Palmer, a Baltimore native, was a graduate of the Class of 1959 and 1974 graduate of the National War College. He spent three years as administrative aide to the secretary of the Navy. He later served as the Commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1984 until the time of his death. He died as the Commandant of Midshipmen.  As a veteran of the Vietnam War, his decorations included four Legions of Merit, the Navy Meritorious Service Medal, and two awards of the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V. He is laid to rest overlooking the Academy and Severn River in Section 7, Plot 1603.