HALLOWED GROUND
Pea Ridge, Arkansas Battlefield
Following Patriot Day, September 11, America will remember and recognize another group who dedicated their lives to this country – our veterans. On November 11, Veteran’s Day, we will pay tribute and thank those who have repeatedly defended our freedom. How does this nation honor its fallen veterans?
President Abraham Lincoln had to create national cemeteries for civil war soldiers who died in the service of their country. In 1862, 14 cemeteries were established. Today, there are 147 national cemeteries, ranging in size from 1,045 acres in Calverton, NY to 0.03 acres in Hampton, VA. Forty states and Puerto Rico have national cemeteries. Currently there are no national cemeteries in Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware and New Hampshire although there are on-going plans for cemeteries in some of these states.
Many of the cemeteries are in the Southeast, where much of the Civil War fighting took place, or near military posts that guarded the ever-advancing western frontier. Since the start of the 20th century, cemeteries have been established near large metropolitan areas where many veterans live.
More than 4.1 million veterans – from the Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan – are interred in national cemeteries. A number of American Indians are buried in national cemeteries including the Apache Chief Geronimo and his wife. Hampton National Cemetery holds the remains of 28 German sailors whose bodies were recovered from the German submarine U-85, sunk off the U.S. coast in 1942. And, although the practice is prohibited now, the Los Angeles National Cemetery contains the remains of Blackout, a war dog wounded in the Pacific during World War II.
For more information about national cemeteries: www.cem.va.gov
