Veterans Memorial

Veterans Memorial. Cemetery Memorial Park. , 2012 - The City of Ventura constructed a Veterans Memorial to commemorate the veterans buried in Cemetery Memorial Park. The memorial consists of five monolithic stones surrounding the flagpole. The names of the five wars in which cemetery veterans served are etched in the concrete pathway leading to the memorial. , Here are the stories of three of the many veterans interred here. , , William Vandever (1817-1893) , United States Representative from Iowa and California, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. , In 1884 Vandever moved to Ventura and was elected Representative of California's 6th congressional district serving from 1887 to 1891. He died in Ventura at the age of 76. , Alexander Kinkead (1831-1908) , Member of the Minnesota State House of Representatives and a first-lieutenant in the Union Army during the Civil War. , Kinkead was born in Maryland and traveled to Minnesota where, in 1859, he established a U.S. Post Office in his log cabin serving as the community's first postmaster. The town site was named after him - Alexandria, MN. , It is not recorded when, or why, Kinkead moved to California. However, Ventura County records show that Kinkead was a registered county resident and voter in 1884. , James Sumner (1840-1912) , United States Medal of Honor recipient for acts of courage in the Indian Wars. , Sumner was a native of England who immigrated to Chicago, where he joined the Army. He served as a cavalryman during the Apache Wars, in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona Territory. Under orders from his captain, Sumner and his troop advanced through heavy fire in a skirmish against a group of Chiricahua Indians led by Cochise. Sumner was awarded the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions. His official Medal of Honor citation, dated February 14, 1870, reads "Gallantry in action." , After his military service, Sumner moved to California where he lived first in Los Angeles and then in Oxnard. He never married nor had children. Sumner died at age 72 and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.