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Name: Muro, Steve
Current Position: Previous Under Secretary
Steve L. Muro, who was named Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs on January 21, 2009, has spent more than 30 years working for the nation’s military cemeteries, rising from auto mechanic to acting head of the National Cemetery Administration.
Muro is a graduate of Mt. San Antonio Junior College in Northern California, where he earned his associate’s degree. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, including two tours of duty in Vietnam. One was on board the USS Benjamin Stoddert and another with a mobile construction (Seabee) battalion.
Muro began his career with veterans’ cemeteries in 1979, as an automotive mechanic at Los Angeles National Cemetery. He was eventually promoted to maintenance foreman, and in 1981 was selected to attend the Cemetery Director Trainee Program, conducted at Riverside National Cemetery. Upon completing this training, he became the assistant to the director of the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
From there Muro continued to move up. He was director of the Baton Rouge and Port Hudson National Cemeteries; assistant director and director of the Long Island National Cemetery; assistant director of Riverside National Cemetery; director of Fort Snelling National Cemetery; and acting director of the Golden Gate and San Francisco National Cemeteries.
In 2001, Muro was assigned to the newly formed Memorial Service Network V, where he served as its director through 2002.
He served as director of the Office of Field Programs from February 2003 to October 2008, in which position he provided leadership and direction for the National Cemetery Administration’s field offices and facilities, including 128 national shrine cemeteries. Under his guidance, a new training center was established, and NCA created a nationwide National Cemetery Scheduling Office.
From February to November 2005 Muro served as the acting deputy under secretary for memorial affairs, during which he assisted with the organization at several Senate hearings regarding future land acquisitions and fiscal planning. In October 2008, Muro was named the permanent deputy under secretary for memorial affairs, and three months later, he became the acting under secretary for memorial affairs.
Steve Muro, the Man in Charge of Looking After U.S. Military Cemeteries (Washington Post)
