Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It encompasses 436.3 acres (1.766 km2), and as of April 24, 2007 had 172,001 interments.
History
Fort Snelling was a frontier fort first established in 1819. Its original purpose was to keep the peace on what was then the western frontier. During the American Civil War it served as a recruiting camp area for Minnesota volunteers. The cemetery was officially established in 1870.
In 1937, the citizens of St. Paul, petitioned Congress to construct a National Cemetery in the area. Two years later, the new plot was dedicated, and the burials from the original post cemetery were moved to it. In 1960, the Fort Snelling Air Force Station transferred 146 acres (0.59 km2) to the cemetery; another 177 acres (0.72 km2) were acquired in 1961, expanding the cemetery to its current size.
Notable interments
- Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr, United Airlines Flight 93 passenger.
- Bob Casey, baseball announcer.
- Captain Richard E. Fleming, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient for action at Midway in World War II. (Memorial grave site only, buried on Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean.)
- Frank Eugene Hook, US Congressman, World War I veteran.
- Private First Class Richard E. Kraus, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient for action at Peleliu in World War II.
- Private First Class James D. LaBelle, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
- Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, known as "Father of modern day Open-Heart Surgery."
- Ernest Lundeen, US Congressman.
- John Mariucci, hockey coach, member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
- Captain Arlo Olson, US Army, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Italy during World War II.
- Staff Sergeant Robert J. Pruden, U.S. Army, Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Vietnam War.
- Bruce P. Smith, 1941 football player, Heisman Trophy winner.
- First Lieutenant Richard Keith Sorenson, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient for action on Kwajalein during World War II.
- Corporal Charles W. Lindberg, last surviving member of the Marines who flag raised the flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.
- Major Tim Vakoc, US Army Chaplain mortally wounded in Mosul during the Iraq War.
See also
External links