Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, USN, (1888-1941), The Last Commanding Officer of the USS Arizona: Does Anybody In Milwaukee Put Flowers on His Grave on Pearl Harbor Day?

Captain Franklin Van , USN, (1888-1941), The Last Commanding Officer of the USS Arizona

Van Valkenburgh was the son and grandson of prominent Milwaukee lawyers and a graduate of Cass Street School and East Side (now Riverside) High School in Milwaukee.

Memorial to Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh in Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery

To be technical about it, that's not his tombstone, it's a cenotaph (A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere.), as the only thing found of Capt. Van Valkenburgh after the Arizona exploded was his Naval Academy class ring.

So back to my original question, does somebody put flowers here every December 7? It wouldn't surprise me if they did, but it never hurts to ask. Does anybody in Milwaukee know?

UPDATE: More info from findagrave.com: Franklin Van Valkenburgh "IN MEMORY OF" marker located at Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI. Lot 12, Block 6, Section 25. GPS N42.99827 W87.94493

I ordered a wreath to be put at the memorial for December 7.

Odd, and probably an oversight: The Forest Home Cemetery's tour guide lists the graves of all sorts of Milwaukee beer barons, but doesn't include the memorial to Capt. Van Valkenburgh.

Update May 21, 2009: Actually, you can't put flowers on his grave for Pearl Harbor Day (too cold -- hence the wreaths). But you can for Memorial Day. And if you can't make it there yourself, you can always call Forest Home Cemetery at (414) 645-2632 and let them put the flowers there for you (they take all major credit cards). Great idea, eh?

Update December 2010: I ordered another wreath to be put at the memorial for December 7. To put a wreath ($30) on the grave, call Forest Home Cemetery at (414) 645-2632 and they'll take care of everything.

Comments

[Bill Toman]

Thanks for honoring this hero. I just published this cenotaph on the Historical Marker Database, including with a link to this page, and I wonder if I could copy his portrait from this page to add it to the marker page. Thanks. -Bill

[bedroom furniture]

great man :D

[Michael Glass]

Just found your post while doing some belated research for a Pearl Harbor Day post on my own blog.

I just wanted to make mention of the fact not only was Capt. van Valkenburgh the last commander of USS Arizona, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry. He stayed his post on the bridge of Arizona, directing operations and evacuation efforts. He was most likely killed when the bridge received a direct hit by a Japanese bomb.

Kudos to you for your remembrance of and honors to a fine man and fallen hero!