With Memorial Day approaching, this Fort Riley Friday we visit the Post Cemetery. The Post Cemetery was established in 1853, the same year as Camp Center, Fort Riley’s original name. It is the oldest historic property on post with the exception of Cavalry Parade Field. The first recorded burial took place in 1854. The eastern third of the cemetery is the oldest section and contains mass graves for those who died in cholera outbreaks in 1855 and 1867. This section also features a free-form layout of grave sites and elaborate monuments. As one moves from east to west into newer portions of
With Memorial Day approaching, this Fort Riley Friday we visit the Post Cemetery. The Post Cemetery was established in 1853, the same year as Camp Center, Fort Riley’s original name. It is the oldest historic property on post with the exception of Cavalry Parade Field. The first recorded burial took place in 1854. The eastern third of the cemetery is the oldest section and contains mass graves for those who died in cholera outbreaks in 1855 and 1867. This section also features a free-form layout of grave sites and elaborate monuments. As one moves from east to west into newer portions of the cemetery, the free-form pattern of graves gives way to the more regimented layout and uniformly spaced grave stones of identical design commonly associated with military cemeteries. In the cemetery also lie three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, Confederate prisoners from the Civil War, as well as German and Italian prisoners of war from World War II. The history of events at Fort Riley is interwoven with the stories of those buried in the cemetery, and the grounds provide a peaceful setting in which to stop and reflect upon the service and sacrifice of the Soldiers who have served and lived on Fort Riley. Monday, May 31st at 11:40 is the post’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Fort Riley Post Cemetery Pictured: Post Cemetery looking southwest, top, and an older section of the cemetery looking east showing the differences between the layout and grave markers of the older and newer sections of the cemetery, bottom.
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Keywords: abuse, army, fort, prevention, program, riley, substance
