Former Spring Valley Resident First Person Buried In Casket At Miramar National Cemetery

On Thursday, a Spring Valley man, who was a longtime leader in San Diego's military veterans community, became the first person to be buried in a casket at the new Miramar National Cemetery.

John Smith died of heart failure on Jan. 30 in his Spring Valley home. Thursday, he was honored by nearly 200 friends and family, including his widow, at the cemetery. Smith served in Vietnam as an Army medic with the 1st Air Cavalry. He was 62 when he died.

While his service to his nation was outstanding, in San Diego, Smith was more known for his work assisting San Diego's homeless veteran population. He was one of the founders of "Stand Down," an annual event that aids homeless veterans through a variety of services, including: prevention, treatment, intervention and aftercare. Smith also was vital in helping launch the organization known as Veterans Village of San Diego.

"Wherever you went in San Diego, John was there to help,'' said Kirk Leopard, cemetery director.

Roger Brautigan, the secretary of the California Department of Veterans
Affairs, called Smith a leader in every veterans group in the county. A report in the San Diego Union-Tribune said that Smith's body had been preserved in a mortuary until his burial. His fellow veterans chose him for the first grave at Miramar.

Phase One of the new facility adjacent to MCAS Miramar will include 11,500 conventional grave sites, 4,900 in-ground sites for cremated remains and 10,000 columbarium niches – spaces in the wall of a mausoleum.

Leopard said the first interments of cremated remains took place last November.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma stopped burying caskets in 1966, Leopard said.

City News Service contributed to this report.