Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga
National Cemetery
200 Duell Road
Schuylerville, NY 12871-1721
Phone: (518) 581-9128
FAX: (518) 583-6975
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Office Hours:
Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays.
Visitation Hours:
Open daily from dawn until dusk.
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Burial Space: This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains.
Acreage: 351.7
Number of Interments
Thru Fiscal Year 2008: 7,832
General Information Kiosk on Site? Yes
Floral/Ground Regulations
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Directions from nearest airport:
From Interstate 87 take exit 12 East (Route 67, Malta) and proceed east on Route 67 to the intersection of Route 9. Turn left on Route 9 and proceed north to the intersection of Route 9P. Turn right onto Route 9P and proceed east along Saratoga Lake to the intersection of Route 423. Turn right onto Route 423 and proceed east to the intersection of Route 4. Turn left onto Route 4 and proceed north. Then turn left onto Wilbur Road. Proceed on Wilbur Road to intersection of Duell Road. Turn right onto Duell Road and follow to cemetery.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Military Funeral Honors
The Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery has an Honor Guard Association, which consists of six squads of 12-18 volunteers each. The principal duty of the Honor Guard is to ensure that every veteran receives a proper military burial service. This service is available at no charge to all eligible veterans.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery is New York State’s sixth national veteran’s cemetery and the 116th in the National Cemetery Administration.
More than 1.4 million veterans live in New York and more than 225,000 reside in the Albany/Saratoga area. The first phase of construction, encompassing 60 acres of the 351-acre cemetery, included 5,000 gravesites, 2,000 lawn crypts, 1,500 columbaria niches and 700 garden niches for cremated remains. At full capacity, Solomon-Saratoga can provide burial space for 175,500 veterans and eligible dependents.
On Jan. 24, 2002, President George W. Bush signed legislation renaming Saratoga National Cemetery as the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. Congressman Solomon was known as the champion of veterans' causes. Among his accomplishments, he spearheaded the effort to create the cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs and successfully led a drive to establish the national cemetery in which he is now interred.
Monuments and Memorials
The ship’s bell from the USS Saratoga, CV-3, was installed as a memorial at the cemetery in 1999. The USS Saratoga was launched in 1925 and spent 20 years at sea, including action during World War II. It was taken out of service and destroyed in 1946. New York Congressman Dean P. Taylor requested the bell in 1946. It was first displayed at Saratoga Spring’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Memorial Home, dedicated on Veteran’s Day in 1949. The bell was later restored and permanently mounted at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery.
An American gray granite memorial was erected in 2001 to honor veterans from Saratoga County, N.Y. The monument features two granite slabs inscribed with approximately 980 names of individuals who gave their lives for their country. A granite obelisk is at the forefront of the monument.
A pyramidal black-mist granite memorial for Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon, who was instrumental in the national cemetery’s establishment and a proponent of veteran causes, was erected in 2002, the year the cemetery was renamed in his honor.
A granite and bronze memorial was erected in honor of U.S. submariner veterans on October 19, 2002.
The cemetery also has a walkway that features a number of memorials erected by various veterans and fraternal organizations in honor of events and fallen comrades.
The American Veterans (AMVETS) donated a carillon in 1999.
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NOTABLE PERSONS
Medal of Honor Recipients
Specialist Fourth Class Raymond R. Wright, (Vietnam), U.S. Army, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. In Ap Bac Zone, Vietnam, May 2, 1967 (Section 7, Site 1035).
Technical Sergeant Peter J. Dalessandro, (World War II), U.S. Army, Company E, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. At Kalterherberg, Germany, Dec. 22, 1944 (Section G12, Site 1).
Sergeant Thomas A. Baker, (World War II), U.S. Army, Company A, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division. At Saipan, Mariana Islands, June 19 to July 7, 1944, (Section 8, Site 530).
Others
U.S. Representative Gerald Brooks Hunt Solomon, interred Oct. 31, 2001 (Section 20, Site 7). Cemetery renamed in his honor.
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing. Floral pick up is the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
Potted plants of any size and permanent vases are not permitted.
Artificial flowers are permitted on gravesites from October 10 through April 15 and the 10 day period before and after Easter, and are subject to floral pick ups when they become unsightly or to facilitate cemetery operations.
Christmas Wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal arrangements may be placed on graves beginning December 1 and will be picked up by January 20 (weather conditions permitting).
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, attachments to headstones/markers, flag holders, flags, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
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