Press Advisory
October 5, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Myrna Hayes, Volunteer Preserve Manager and
President, Mare Island Heritage Trust
CELL PH: 707-249-9633
EMail: myrnahay@pacbell.net
www.mareislandpreserve.org
Contact: Thomas L Snyder, MD
Captain, Medical Corps, U S Navy, Retired
131 el Camino Real
Vallejo CA 94590-3464
EMail: thomaslsnyder@gmail.com
Mobile: 707.373.3989
Contact: John Middleton
Honoured Lieutenant of the Russian Navy
Cavalier of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation
Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Science, Centre for Research on Russian-America and
Russian-American Relations
Director of Middleton-Tidwell Art Conservation
EMail: mailto:johnmiddleton2@earthlink.net
Work (831) 375-6455
Home (707) 847-3924
Mobile (707) 344-1453
Contact: C. Douglas Kroll, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History, College of the Desert, Palm Desert, California
Commander, Chaplain Corps, United States Naval Reserve, Retired
EMail: DKroll@collegeofthedesert.edu
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LETTERS TO EDITORS/OP-ED REGARDING VALLEJO REVIEW OF IMPACTS OF
RUSSIAN GRAVESTONE REPLACEMENT AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF COMMISSION
HEARING
THREE AUTHORS TAKE ISSUE WITH CITY OF VALLEJO RECOMMENDATIONS TO ARCHITECTURAL
COMMISSION REGARDING MARE ISLAND NAVAL CEMETERY RUSSIAN GRAVESTONE REPLACEMENT
[VALLEJO}, CA – On Thursday, October 13, 2011, 7pm a hearing will be held of the Vallejo
Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission regarding the fate of the Russian
gravestones in the Mare Island Naval Cemetery. The latest in a series of hearing dates that
have been repeatedly cancelled and rescheduled by the City since Fall 2010 is now scheduled
to take place Thursday, October 13th in the City Council Chambers at the Vallejo City Hall, 555
Santa Clara St. in Vallejo, California. In August 2011 in preparation for the October 13th
hearing, the City issued the Second Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration
under the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
The Commission will consider staff recommendations and hold a public hearing regarding
a request by the applicant, the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation on behalf of the Russian
Consulate in San Francisco, for an after-the-fact Certificate of Appropriateness for the nonpermitted and unapproved removal of six Russian gravestones and replacement with modern
stones in August 2010 in the Mare Island Naval Cemetery. Established as the U.S. Navy’s first
cemetery in the Pacific, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated
by the National Park Service as a contributor to the Mare Island National Historic Landmark
in 1975. Following the closure of the naval base in 1996, the property ownership and day-today care was transferred to the City of Vallejo.
In the months following the initial media attention about the unauthorized removal of the
gravestones that date back to the period of the American Civil War and the City’s efforts to
bring resolution to the issue, there has been little in the way of informed discussion and
educational outreach by the City or its Commission. To date, the debate that has taken place in
the media has not centered on technical resources or “best practices” many of which have been
in place related to cemetery and gravestone preservation and restoration since the 19th century.
A number of historians and advocates have recommended to the City that it consider seeking
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the technical advise of professional gravestone restorers and others with expertise in historic
cemetery preservation and restoration. Three historians’ recommendations follow as letters to
the Editor/Op-Ed pieces.
Letters to the Editor/Op-Ed Pieces
Included below are quotes from and links to the complete versions of three letters
prepared by historians who take exception to the recommendations outlined in the Initial
Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration of the City and its consultant.
One letter is written by Mr. John Middleton, a professional fine arts restorer, and an
historian of Russian Naval History as pertains to their presence in California during the 19th
century.
C. Douglas Kroll, Ph.D., writes as a professional historian, a retired Chaplain and
Commander in the United States Naval Reserve, and the author of “Friends in Peace and
War”: The Russian Navy’s Landmark Visit to Civil War San Francisco (Potomac Books,
2007)
A third letter is submitted by Dr. Thomas Snyder, Captain, Medical Corps, USN, (ret.)
and Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Society for the History of Navy Medicine. In
his op-ed piece entitled, “MARE ISLAND RUSSIAN GRAVE MARKERS
CONTROVERSY--WHAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO?” Dr. Snyder writes, “I suggest
that the Secretary of Interior Guidelines and graveyard best practices call for:

repair of the original 1863-4 stones if possible; if they're not repairable, replace them
with historically accurate copies, discretely identified as such.

put the original VA markers back over the graves they guarded until recently.

it has been suggested that the 1904 markers now on the 1863-4 graves could be moved
to a small grove adjacent to the Cemetery; this lovely grove could feature kiosks telling
the story and significance of the 1863-4 Russian fleet visit to San Francisco, thereby
honoring the Russian people and their friendship with the American people.”
In closing, Dr. Snyder notes, ”The Mare Island Naval Cemetery is a significant monument.
This hallowed place deserves our best, most careful and thoughtful acts of restoration and
preservation. To do less renders disrespect both to our national past and to the people resting
there.”
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Mr. Middleton’s Op-Ed submission is entitled “A RESTORER'S CONCERNS ABOUT
THE CIVIL WAR TOMBSTONES REPLACED AT MARE ISLAND”. In his technically
unique presentation, Mr. Middleton takes the reader through a thought process regarding the
appropriateness of the style of replacement stones selected and citing the absence of the
involvement from the beginning, of a professional historian, questions the soundness of the
conclusions presented in the City findings.
Mr. Middleton writes, “My concerns are two fold: the proper care of historic resources and
the accurate representation of their historic context. In this I am in complete agreement with
the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines, and with the historic preservationists who wish to see
the original three Russian sailor's gravestones from 1863 restored and returned to their original
places, and the three later "Russian Sailor" gravestones in the U.S. Civil War style to their
original places.
The City of Vallejo as caretaker for this National Historic Landmark, have already adopted
the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines for Historic Resources and incorporated these guidelines
as the standard for its "Architectural Heritage and Historic Preservation Ordinance".
While it is clear that the parties involved in the removal and replacement of the six Russian
grave stones in 1995 and 2010 had neither adhered to these standards nor perhaps had even
been aware of their intent, their actions damaged not only the historic artifacts themselves in
their unauthorized removal, but damaged the historical integrity of the entire cemetery with
the replacement grave stones that are neither of the right period or material.
The reasons for the six stones removal were, like the lack of awareness of professional
standards for historic preservation by the parties which undertook their replacement, flawed
by the absence of sound historical research which would have prevented the replacement of
original artifacts with "interpretations" from a different century.
A restorer's advice at this point also would have proved invaluable.” Mr. Middleton goes
on to give specific illustrations of the flaws in the approach taken by the applicant with
graphic photo details.
In “A Statement on the Russian Grave Markers in the Mare Island Naval
Cemetery”, C. Douglas Kroll, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, College of the Desert, Palm
Desert, California and Commander, Chaplain Corps, United States Naval Reserve, Retired, writes, “I
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have lamented, over the years, during my visits to the Bay area, the inaccessibility of the Mare
Island Cemetery and its lack of maintenance once the Naval Shipyard had closed. As a
clergyman (non-Orthodox) and retired United States Navy chaplain, I also share a concern for
Christian crosses on the graves of Christians. However, I am aware that not all Russians were
buried in the 19th century under cross shaped gravestones. As a historian, I am concerned that
the replacement gravestones recently installed look out of place in the area of the cemetery
where they are located.
To appropriately honor these departed Russian Navy heroes I would recommend that
experienced gravestone restorers be hired to repair and reset the Civil War era gravestones in
or near their original locations and that a commemorative park or garden to created very near,
but outside the cemetery where the newer replacement gravestones would be relocated and
permanently dedicated during the 150th anniversary of Admiral Popov’s squadron visit during
the American Civil War. Interpretive signage should be included that would tell the
important, but little known story of Russia’s part in the American Civil War.”
In December 2010, the Mare Island Heritage Trust prepared and circulated a detailed
position paper to inform a wide audience of historic resource professionals about the incident.
That document, entitled, “Mare Island Naval Cemetery Grave Marker Removal and
Replacement Incident”
(http://www.mareislandpreserve.org/Russian_American_Navy_History_at_Mare_Island/Russia
n_American_History_at_Mare_Island_files/Mare Island Heritage Trust Position paper
12_06.pdf) gives an overview of the incident, reviews best practices and offers suggestions for
appropriate steps to resolve the issue in a satisfactory way for all interests.
Mr. Middleton, Dr. Snyder and Mr. Kroll have prepared and distributed their Op-Ed pieces
because they believe that it is of great urgency that this hearing be viewed as an opportunity to
step back and consider a conservative and protective course of action for the six nearly 150
year-old grave markers of Russian sailors whose presence in American soil today, is a
poignant reminder of the role the Russian Navy served in San Francisco Bay during the
American Civil War.
Echoing the concerns raised, Myrna Hayes, President of the Mare Island Heritage Trust
said, “This is a real chance for all interested parties including the public, the Vallejo City
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Council and its Commissioners and those who removed and replaced the stones without
thorough research and consultation with historians and gravestone and cemetery restoration
professionals, to consider “best practices” and chart a more historically protective course for
these six gravesites that represent such an important moment in Russian and American
relations during the American Civil War. To do anything less, is to seriously undermine the
authentic history of these sacred gravesites in this cemetery and the long and deeply respectful
ties of the two nations.”
The Mare Island Naval Cemetery
The Mare Island Naval Cemetery is located within the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage
Preserve. The Preserve is situated on the U.S. Navy’s oldest Naval Ammunition Depot in the
Pacific dating back to its founding in 1857. The Naval Cemetery was designated a year later in
1858 and is the first U.S. Navy burial site in the West. Nine hundred twenty-two Navy and
Marine Corps enlisted, officers and their families, civilians and foreign servicemen are
documented to have been buried in the Cemetery on a hillside at the southern end of Mare
Island overlooking the Napa River/Mare Island Strait.
In 1975, the Cemetery, the adjacent Naval Ordnance Worker’s Housing area and the
Historic Naval Ammunition Depot buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic
Places as a National Historic District that contributes to the Mare Island National Historic
Landmark, the highest ranking the National Park Service gives an historic site in America. The
entire Preserve is within the boundaries of the City of Vallejo designated Mare Island Historic
District.
Visible from the hilltop vantage point above the cemetery are scenic vistas of seven Bay
Area counties, the Carquinez Strait, Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Diablo and the Napa and Sonoma
valleys. The property’s combination of 150 years of Navy history and natural wildlands makes
it a magnet for history buffs, birders, nature lovers, artists and photographers.
The property has been off limits to the public until recently, due to sensitive Navy
munitions manufacturing, storage and transport and environmental cleanup. Since October of
2010, volunteers of the Mare Island Heritage Trust now open the Preserve to the public every
weekend, Friday through Sunday, 10:00am to sunset during which the public has free access
for hiking and bicycling on the paved roadway, visiting the cemetery, picnicking and
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birdwatching. Visitors may view educational displays about the history and natural features of
the parkland and an art show of scenes in the Preserve by members of the Benicia Plein Air
Group at the Visitors Center in a converted 1920’s era bomb storage magazine near the
cemetery.
The first parcels of the property were transferred to the City of Vallejo in a grant from the
California legislature through the California State Lands Commission in 2002 for public trust
uses for all Californians. The remainder of the 215-acre site is still undergoing environmental
cleanup by the U.S. Navy and is not open to the public except through special arrangement
with the Navy.
Please note: tours of the Cemetery and the Preserve are available to any reporter or
photographer wishing access. Call Myrna Hayes, Volunteer Preserve Manager, 707-249-9633
(cell) to schedule.
Directions

Located at 1595 Railroad Ave. Vallejo, CA 94592 Online maps aren’t yet accurate
because they haven’t found us yet and Railroad Ave. is blocked off at 15th St and Nereus
St. The best directions are on our website.
http://www.mareislandpreserve.org/Visit/Getting_Here.html
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