Mare Island Russian Grave Markers Controversy--What's the Right
Thing to Do?
by Thomas L Snyder, MD
Thursday evening, August 18th, the Vallejo Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission will
hold a public hearing on the Mare Island Russian Grave Markers Controversy.
What's the controversy all about?
The historic Mare Island Naval Cemetery opened in the mid 19th century. More than 900 sailors,
officers and family members are buried there. The Cemetery closed in the 1920s. It and its silent
population are included in the Mare Island National Historic Landmark District.
Sometime in August 2010, old (late 19th or early 20th century) marble VA markers inscribed
"Russian Sailor" were quietly removed from graves of three Russian sailors buried there in 1863-64.
Three partners to those graves had earlier borne marble stones presumed to have been placed, at the
time of the burials, by the sailors' own Russian shipmates. Damaged and broken, these had been
spirited off the Island in the 1990s, leaving the graves unmarked. (They have recently been returned,
and now lie, in pieces, in the Mare Island Historic Park Museum.) At the time the early VA markers
were removed to a nearby tree, granite markers identical to those on 1904-5 Russian graves, located
in another section of the Cemetery, were placed over all 6 of the 1863-4 graves.
When Vallejo took title to Mare Island, the City adopted a set of rules regarding the Historic District
that requires that a Certificate of Appropriateness be obtained to assure "...nor shall the proposed
work affect the special character or special historical, cultural, architectural or aesthetic interest or
value of the district".
Clearly, such a determination needs the bright light of public--and historical--scrutiny. The Mare
Island Russian Grave Markers Controversy arose because of the surreptitious manner in which the
gravestone swapout happened, and because neither public nor historical opinion was sought. The
modern stones simply "appeared". The result, according to Michael Trinchley, PhD, of the Chicora
Foundation, a public, non-profit heritage graveyard preservation organization: "What is on the graves
today is the antithesis of maintaining the historic fabric. They are modern. They are of granite and
thus don’t blend with a historic cemetery dominated by marble. Their scale and massing are not only
different from the original, but again out of character for the other stones that I can see around them.
Bluntly, they are out of place and distracting."
In most areas of human endeavor, a body of "best practices" has evolved--the result of experience
and careful study. So it is with historical landmarks, cemeteries and gravestones. For National
Historic Landmarks, the U S Secretary of the Interior provides "Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties, 1995". These guidelines specifically state that "[t]he historic character of
property will be retained and preserved. The replacement of intact or repairable historic materials or
alteration of features...that characterize a property will be avoided". And "Where the severity of
deterioration requires repair or limited replacement of a distinctive feature, the new material
will match the old in composition, design, color, and texture." [highlighting mine]. Experts like
Mary F Striegel of the National Park Service National Center for Preservation Technology and
Training cites the best practice concepts "respect and retain the historic fabric and original material",
"be authentic", "identify repairs" and "maintain and protect the resource".
What to do?
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.
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.