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Yellowstone National Cemetery
Yellowstone National Cemetery.
Map
Details
Established2014
Location
Yellowstone County, Montana
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45°41′46″N 108°46′21″W / 45.696237°N 108.772638°W / 45.696237; -108.772638
TypeUnited States National Cemetery
Size10 acres (4.0 ha)

Summary

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US Department of Veterans Affairs administers Yellowstone National Cemetery. A United States National Cemetery located 1 mile north of Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana, at 55 Buffalo Trail Road (state highway 532), the 10.5 acres (4.2 ha) Yellowstone National Cemetery is a satellite cemetery of Black Hills National Cemetery; Sturgis, South Dakota. [1] Yellowstone National Cemetery is the first of 8 smaller national burial grounds the Department of Veterans Affairs plans in its Rural Veterans Burial Initiative for largely rural states in America. [2] As of 1 January 2015, Yellowstone National Cemetery has had 371 interments.

History

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Montana has had a National cemetery for over 100 years. On August 1st, 1879, the US Army established a National cemetery at the Custer battlefield at present Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument; Crow Agency, Montana. [3] This cemetery included already interred US military battle deaths from the Battle of the Little Big Horn (Custer’s Last Stand). As years passed more interments occurred at Custer National Cemetery; including military burials from the Plains Indian Wars, non-battle related deaths from other frontier military forts in the region, and other interments continuing to modern times. On July 1st, 1940, the US Army turned over to the US Department of the Interior, US Park Service, the Custer National Cemetery: 1 of 14 National cemeteries now managed by the US Park Service. One hundred years of interments exhausted available burial space at Custer National Cemetery, and in January 1978 the US Park Service closed the cemetery to first, or non-reserved, interments.[4]

In 1978 the US Veterans Administration began a state grant program to help states build state veterans cemeteries. [5] In March 1989 US Veterans Administration became a cabinet-level post, designated US Department of Veterans Affairs, (herein “Veterans Affairs)”. [6] By the early 2000s Montana had 3 Veterans Affairs state grant supported veterans cemeteries: Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Helena; Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Missoula; and Eastern Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Miles City.[7] Montana state legislature authorized a state veterans cemetery in Yellowstone County, but did not provide funding.[8] Yellowstone County, Montana’s most populous county with Montana’s largest city, Billings, has the state’s largest veterans’ population, but no veterans cemetery.[9]

In the early 2000s Yellowstone County veterans, citing long travel distances to Montana state veterans cemeteries or open national cemeteries, began a grass-roots effort to build a veterans cemetery in Yellowstone County without Veterans Affairs state grant monies.[10] A coalition of veteran and civic leaders agreed on a plan to design, build, and operate a veterans cemetery in Yellowstone County to Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, standards, and then petition Veterans Affairs to designate the cemetery a National cemetery. [11]

In 2006 Yellowstone County, Montana, voters approved monies to build and operate the newly named Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery.[12] Yellowstone County purchased about 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land from the city of Laurel, 15 miles west of Billings, for the cemetery. Yellowstone County also purchased a 37 acres (15 ha) right-of-way or easement on Montana state land north of the Laurel city land for future cemetery expansion.

Veterans, civic leaders, and citizens held ground-breaking ceremonies for the $1.7 million dollar Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2008, with dedication of the completed cemetery on Veterans Day, 2008.[13] On December 8th, 2008, Glenn L. Butz, veteran, US Army, World War II, was the cemetery’s first interment.[14]

Yellowstone County veterans and civic leaders began a concerted effort through Montana’s US congressional delegation, led by Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to have Veterans Affairs designate Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery a National cemetery. The effort centered on showing Veterans Affairs the need for smaller-in-scale national cemeteries for America’s predominantly rural states.[15] In 2011 Veterans Affairs began its Rural Veterans Burial Initiative Program (herein “Rural Initiative”) to improve burial access for veterans residing in America’s rural areas. Veterans Affairs looked at states lacking a National cemetery with available space for first interments.[16] In 2012 Veterans Affairs designated 8 states to have smaller national burial grounds. The states are Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Maine.[17] Veterans Affairs agreed to take Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery under the Rural Initiative, but only the cemetery’s already built and developed 10 acres (4.0 ha).[18]

Veterans Affairs asked for public input on a name for the new National cemetery. Montana’s citizens submitted 67 different proposed names.[19] Proposed name “Yellowstone National Cemetery” came from a veteran living in Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana. The veteran sent an e-mail on January 3rd, 2014 to US Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Denver, Colorado; and to the Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners reading in part, “The name “Yellowstone National Cemetery” meets VA requirements of location, region, and broad inspiring appeal. The name reflects grandeur of America’s west, with nobility, strength, courage, and character: hallmarks befitting sacrifice, honor, and gallantry of America’s military veterans. The lasting name of this hallowed ground must fervently and sincerely honor the very soul and service of veterans forever interred there, “Yellowstone National Cemetery” is that name."[20] Veterans Affairs agreed with the recommended name, “Yellowstone National Cemetery".

On May 26th, 2014, Yellowstone County, Montana, officially donated to Veterans Affairs without financial cost to the federal government, the renamed "Yellowstone National Cemetery."Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Dedication ceremony included tribal blessings in native language and native ceremonies by leaders of the Crow Nation and Northern Cheyenne Nation in Montana.[21]

Mr. Gerard D. Lyons, veteran, US Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom, is Yellowstone National Cemetery’s first manager in history.

Notable Interments

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  • Edward J. Chaplowski, US Navy, WWII, December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor
  • Mrs. Francis Elliott, Lieutenant, US Navy, WWII, Nurse on Guadalcanal
  • Willard J. Page, US Army, WWII, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, assault on Sicily, prisoner-of-war
  • First Lieutenant Paul Majors, US Army, Vietnam; Missing-in-action on June 1st 1971; remains recovered and returned burial on August 27th, 2010
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National Cemetery Administration Graves Locator Find a Grave, Yellowstone National Cemetery

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  • 1
    1
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    3
  • 2
    2

References

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  1. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/yellowstone.asp (accessed 13 January 2015)
  2. ^ Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, Media Relations, News Release, "VA Expanding Burial Options in rural Areas," August 1, 2012
  3. ^ Jerome A. Greene, “Stricken Field, The Little Bighorn since 1876.” U. of Oklahoma, 2008.
  4. ^ Ibid
  5. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, “Veterans Cemetery Grant Programs,” http://www.cem.va.gov/grants/ (accessed 13 January 2015).
  6. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs, “About VA,” http://www.va.gov/about_va/vahistory.asp, (accessed 13 January 2015).
  7. ^ State of Montana, Department of Military Affairs, “Cemeteries,” http://montanadma.org/cemeteries, (accessed 13 Jan 2015).
  8. ^ Montana Code Annotated, Title 10, chapter 2, part 6, “State Veterans Cemeteries,” at http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/10/2/10-2-601.htm, (accessed 13 January 2015).
  9. ^ Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, VetPop 2007 data.
  10. ^ “Grass-roots Campaign Promises Final Honor for Vets.” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, May 27th, 2007, sec 10C.
  11. ^ Ibid.
  12. ^ Tom Howard, “Veterans Cemetery near Laurel Gets Voter Ok.” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, November 7th, 2006, at http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/veterans-cemetery-near-laurel-gets-voter-ok/article_dfcfb5ad-12de-539a-8290-f5a429b4d798.html#ixzz337jAUObw, (accessed 13 January 2015.
  13. ^ Matt Hagengruber and Bob Zeller, “Place to Remember, County Veterans Cemetery Dedicated in Laurel.” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, November 12th, 2008, sec. A1.
  14. ^ Matt Hagengruber and James Woodcock, “The First Goodbye.” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, December 13th, 2008, sec. A1.
  15. ^ “Grassroots Effort Built Final Home for Heroes.” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, May 28th, 2012, sec. A4.
  16. ^ Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Audits and Evaluations. “Audit of Rural Veterans Burial Initiative,” July 14, 2014, VA doc 13-03468-203.
  17. ^ Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, Media Relations, News Release, “VA Expanding Burial Options in Rural Areas,” August 1st, 2012.
  18. ^ Cindy Uken, “VA to Give Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery a National Designation,” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, August 1st, 2012, sec. A1.
  19. ^ Montana Veterans Affairs, Fort Harrison, Montana, consolidated list of proposed names for National Cemetery.
  20. ^ Ed Saunders, Laurel, Montana, e-mail to Sen Jon Tester, D-Mont; Veterans Affairs, and Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners, “Proposed Name for VA National Burial Ground – Laurel, Montana,” January 3rd, 2014.
  21. ^ Chris Cioffi, “Cemetery Blessed Before Dedication,” Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, May 26th, 2014, sec. B1.
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