Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 4:09PMArticle by Michael Rainville, Jr.
Fort Snelling National Cemetery was established in 1939, but dedicated burial sites for United States veterans have been around since the Civil War. Prior to the Civil War, soldiers were buried relatively close to where they passed away, next to field hospitals, campgrounds, and battle fields. Because of the high death count during the Civil War, President Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the federal government to purchase land for use as national cemeteries. After the war, on February 22nd, 1867, the National Cemeteries Act was passed by Congress that allowed the Secretary of War to mark burials in national cemeteries with permanent headstones, and to construct permanent buildings and structures within cemeteries.
Post Cemetery, 1905 Photo: Minnesota Historical Society
The first cemetery at Fort Snelling, known as Post Cemetery, was established around 1826 and became the final resting place for soldiers and veterans from conflicts such as the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, and the Spanish–American War. The Twin Cities became home to many veterans after World War I came to an end, and after the passage of a law in 1920 that extended burial benefits to honorably discharged veterans of all wars, the need for proper burial grounds for those veterans quickly became apparent.
In the 1930s, local members of the Grand Army of the Republic, the American Legion, Spanish-American War Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars all petitioned to have a national cemetery in the Twin Cities. After years of lobbying, in 1936 and 1937, the United States Congress passed laws to put in motion the creation of the Fort Snelling National Cemetery. After 180 acres of land in the southwest corner of the Fort Snelling Military Reservation were set aside for the cemetery, WPA workers began grading and landscaping the area while contractors constructed the site’s buildings.
Dedication ceremony, 1939 Photo: Minnesota Historical Society
When the cemetery opened in the summer of 1939, the total cost of the project was roughly $500,000, or over $10M after inflation. The first burial occurred on July 5th when United State Army Captain George H. Mallon, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient, was laid to rest. After the formal dedication on July 14th, the 680 soldiers from the old Post Cemetery were reinterned at the new cemetery. With the influx of veterans after World War II and the Korean War, the cemetery was looking to expand its land. The cemetery grew to its current size when the Fort Snelling Air Force Station gave the cemetery 146 acres in 1960 and 177 acres in 1961.
Burial plots of unknown soldiers, 1939 Photo: Minnesota Historical Society
Aerial photo of the cemetery before it expanded to its current size taken in 1958. Photo: Minnesota Historical Society
There are a total of nine Medal of Honor recipients interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, including Captain George H. Mallon. The others are Commander Oscar F. Nelson, who received the military decoration in 1905, World War II veterans Captain Richard E. Fleming, Private First Class Richard E. Kraus, Private First Class James D. LaBelle, Captain Arlo Olson, Second Lieutenant Donald E. Rudolph, Sr., and First Lieutenant Richard Keith Sorenson, and Vietnam veteran Staff Sergeant Robert J. Pruden.
Other notable interments are longtime Minnesota Twins P.A. announcer Bob Casey, Charles W. Lindberg who was one of the Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, hockey legend John Mariucci, Heisman Trophy winner Bruce P. Smith, formerly enslaved person and Civil War veteran Henry Mack, and United Airlines Flight 93 passenger Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr. There is also one British Commonwealth grave located in the cemetery, that of Royal Canadian Air Force World War II veteran Russell J. Wicklem.
Support for living and deceased veterans has always been a point of pride for Minnesotans, and there are companies that help make that possible at the cemetery. Fort Snelling Cemetery Flowers, a veteran family-owned business, has an online store where family members and friends can purchase a variety of flower bouquets during the warmer months, and artificial bouquets and holiday wreaths during the colder months. Customers can schedule dates for the company to deliver the flowers straight to the gravesite.
Contemporary photo of the cemetery Photo - Fort Snelling National Cemetery Wikipedia by Kozarrj
Another organization that helps keep the memories alive of Minnesota veterans is Flags for Fort Snelling. Since 2018, the organization has been placing flags at every gravesite in the cemetery on Memorial Day. Starting in 2020, they have been using Legacy Flags that are made out of recyclable materials, feature a retractable and removable flag, and are sturdy enough to withstand every Minnesota season.
With the weather slowly becoming warmer and Memorial Day around the corner, now is the perfect time to keep in mind those family members, friends, neighbors who have made the ultimate sacrifice and passed away while serving in the United States armed forces. Soon, American flags and colorful bouquets will fill the elegant and serene landscape of the Fort Snelling National Cemetery, a place full of emotion, honor, and remembrance.
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About Michael Rainville, Jr.
A 6th generation Minneapolitan, Michael Rainville, Jr. received his B.A. in History, Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, and M.A. in Art History from the University of St. Thomas.
