Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Updated on Dec 12, 2024

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Established 1939 Country United States Size 436.3 acres (176.6 ha) Founded 1870		Location Minneapolis, Minnesota Type Public No. of graves 220,000 Phone +1 612-726-1127

Address 7601 34th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55450, USA Hours Closed now Tuesday8AM–4:15PMWednesday8AM–4:15PMThursday8AM–4:15PMFriday8AM–4:15PMSaturdayClosedSundayClosedMonday8AM–4:15PM Burials Murder of Tracie McBride, George H. Mallon, Tom Burnett Similar Fort Snelling, Lakewood Cemetery, Calverton National Cemetery, Fort Snelling Memorial, Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldi

Fort snelling national cemetery minneapolis

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It is the older of the two national cemeteries in the state. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 436.3 acres (176.6 ha), and as of 2016 had 220,000 interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

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 (59 ha) to the cemetery; another 177 acres (0.72 km²) were acquired in 1961, expanding the cemetery to its current size.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor recipients

Second Lieutenant Donald E. Rudolph, Sr., U.S. Army, for action in the Battle of Luzon in World War II.

Captain Richard E. Fleming, USMC, for action at Midway in World War II. (Memorial grave site only, body was not recovered)

Private First Class Richard E. Kraus, USMC, for action at Peleliu in World War II.

Private First Class James D. LaBelle, USMC, for action at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

Captain Arlo Olson, US Army, for action in Italy during World War II.

Staff Sergeant Robert J. Pruden, U.S. Army, for action in the Vietnam War.

First Lieutenant Richard Keith Sorenson, USMC, for action on Kwajalein during World War II.

Captain George H. Mallon, U.S. Army, for actions in France during World War I.

Machinist Mate First Class Oscar F. Nelson, U.S. Navy, for heroism aboard the USS Bennington during peacetime.

Others

Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr, United Airlines Flight 93 passenger.

Bob Casey, baseball announcer.

Frank Eugene Hook, US Congressman, World War I veteran.

Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, known as "Father of modern day Open-Heart Surgery."

Corporal Charles W. Lindberg, last surviving member of the Marines who flag raised the flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

Ernest Lundeen, US Congressman.

John Mariucci, hockey coach, member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Bruce P. Smith, 1941 football player, Heisman Trophy winner.

David C. Sutherland III, game artist.

Major Tim Vakoc, US Army Chaplain mortally wounded in Mosul during the Iraq War.

Private Tracie McBride, rape and murder victim

The cemetery contains one British Commonwealth war grave, of a Royal Canadian Air Force airman of World War II.

References

Fort Snelling National Cemetery Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Fort snelling national cemetery minneapolis

Contents

History

Notable interments

References