Florida National Cemetery
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Florida National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Bushnell in Sumter County, Florida .
Florida National Cemetery is located in the Withlacoochee State Forest, approximately 50 miles north of Tampa in Sumter County, Fla. Withlacoochee State Forest was acquired by the federal government from private landowners between 1936 and 1939 under the provisions of the U.S. Land Resettlement Administration. The U.S. Forest Service managed the property until a lease-purchase agreement transferred it to the Florida Board of Forestry in 1958. Currently, Withlacoochee State Forest is the second-largest state forest in Florida, divided into eight distinct tracts of land.
In 1842, Congress encouraged settlement here by establishing the Armed Occupation Act. The law granted a patent for 160 acres to any man who kept a gun and ammunition, built a house, cultivated five acres of the land and remained there for at least five years. Settlers moved in to take advantage of the generous offer. The area contained abundant timber and suitable farmland, appealing attributes to frontiersmen. In 1845 Florida was granted statehood.
During the Civil War, a sugar mill on the Homosassa River supplied sugar to the Confederacy. A robust citrus-growing industry developed in the eastern part of the area and became a focus of intense economic expansion soon after the war.
In 1980, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it would establish a new national cemetery in Florida, its fourth. Two major locations for the cemetery were studied: Cross Florida Barge Canal and Withlacoochee State Forest. The Withlacoochee site, though more environmentally sensitive, was supported by government officials. On Feb. 15, 1983, the state transferred land to the VA for the development of a Florida National Cemetery. The first interment was in 1988.
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[edit] History
Located on federal land within the Withlacoochee State Forest, land for Florida National Cemetery, the fourth National Cemetery in the state, was first set aside in 1983. The first interment was made in 1988.
[edit] Notable interments
- Raymond Fernandez, aka "Hercules Hernandez", professional wrestler.
- Scott Helvenston, film trainer-stuntman and former Navy SEAL.
- Master Sergeant James R. Hendrix, Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
- Sergeant Major Franklin D. Miller, Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Vietnam War.
- Major David Moniac, veteran of the Second Seminole War, first native American graduate of United States Military Academy.
Mike Holovak, A U.S. Navy, Skipper of PT Boat in the South Pacific credited with sinking nine Japanese ships; retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
