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Date: May 18, 2009
Contact: Kim Hawkins, 415-464-5130

U.S. Life-Saving Service Cemetery

Point Reyes National Seashore will be honoring the sacrifice of the men who served to protect America’s coast as a part of the United States Lifesaving Service on Memorial Day, at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, May 25, 2009, at the historic graveyard located at G Ranch. Join the National Park Service and the United States Coast Guard for services at the Historic Life-Saving Cemetery. Following the ceremony, there will be an open house at the Point Reyes Lifesaving Service Boathouse Station from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The small cemetery contains the graves of surfmen who died serving their country as part of the lifesaving crew that operated on the Point Reyes Headlands. Over the course of 78 years, crews participated in an estimated 100 rescues in cold Pacific Ocean waters.

The cemetery is located on a beautiful knoll overlooking Drakes Estero just off Sir Francis Drake Blvd. near the Coast Guard facility in the northern district of Point Reyes. A parking area has been constructed on the Coast Guard access road and the cemetery is a short walk from the paved access road. The historic Lifesaving Service Boathouse Station is located off Chimney Rock Road Parking area. To visit the gravesite or boathouse, contact Park Guide, Kim Hawkins at 415-464-5130 or the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100.

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