Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery ( RNC ) is a cemetery located in Riverside , California , dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel . The cemetery covers , making it the third - largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration . Since 2000 it has been the most active cemetery in the system , based on the number of interments . History . RNC was established in 1976 through the transfer of 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 November 11 , 1978 . An additional 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 , November 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 . 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 memorial amphitheater . Military funeral honors are provided for eligible veterans by military honor guards from each branch of service , by the California National Guard , and by several volunteer teams collectively known as the Memorial Honor Detail or MHD upon request of family members through their funeral home . Monuments and memorials . Riverside National Cemetery is home of the Medal of Honor Memorial , one of four sites in the United States recognized by the U . S . Congress as a National Medal of Honor Memorial Site . 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 . 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 of 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 September 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 imprisonment . Notable interments . Tuskegee Airmen . Several members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen , America ’ s first aviators of African descent , who trained at Alabama ’ s Tuskegee University , are buried at Riverside National Cemetery .