Fort Snelling National Cemetery Service Project

Rainbow Treecare is grateful for having been able to participate in serving the memory of those persons associated with Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Our company joined with other professional tree care companies across the Twin Cities metro area, on November 10, 2004 (the day prior to Veterans Day) in saluting our service men and women. We spent the day climbing and pruning a major stand of mature trees within the cemetery, in a voluntary effort. We hope that our work will in some small way aid in the memory of those who have given so much to those of us remaining.

The project is the second consecutive annual service event organized by the Commercial Arborist Committee, acting as an extension of the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA). The intent of the committee is to offer service to metro residents and organizations in a stewardship role, and to raise public awareness regarding the beauty and value that trees bring to our lives. Rainbow Treecare has been an active member of this committee since its inception in 2003.

Fort Snelling
National Cemetery
7601 34th Avenue, South
Minneapolis , MN 55450-1199
Phone: (612) 726-1127
FAX: (612) 725-2059 or (612) 726-9119

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is located in Minneapolis, Minn. The original Fort Snelling was established in 1805 near the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. However, it was not until 1820 that a permanent post named Fort St. Anthony was constructed under the supervision of Col. Josiah Snelling. Gen. Winfield Scott was so impressed with the conditions at Fort St. Anthony during his first inspection in 1824 that he recommended the installation be renamed Fort Snelling.

Its original purpose was to keep peace on the western frontier, but in 1855 as the frontier moved further west, troops were withdrawn from Fort Snelling. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the fort was reopened and functioned as both an assembly ground and training camp for Minnesota volunteers. It remained open at the end of the Civil War and continued to be used as a training center. In 1947, the Fort Snelling Military Reservation was deactivated as a post, although it continues to function today as the headquarters for the 88th Army Reserve Command.

The Fort Snelling cemetery was established in 1870 to serve as a burial ground for the soldiers who died while stationed at the post. Following World War I, as new legislation expanded the eligibility requirements for burial in a national cemetery, the citizens of St. Paul organized a petition to designate a national cemetery in their area. In 1937, Congress responded with legislation that authorized a portion of land at Fort Snelling Military Reservation for this purpose. Fort Snelling National Cemetery was established in 1939 with the first burial on July 5, of Capt. George H. Mallon, whose acts of heroism at Meuse-Argonne in France were recognized with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Following the dedication of the new cemetery, arrangements were made for the exhumation of the remains of those buried at the older post cemetery and the reinterment of the 680 soldiers who served from 1820-1939 buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. The 1930s were also a major boom era for national cemetery growth. Ft. Snelling is one of a dozen or so very large cemeteries conceived between World War I and World War II to serve large veteran populations in some cities.

In May 1960, Fort Snelling Air Force Station transferred 146 acres of land to the national cemetery. One more land transfer of 177 acres followed in 1961, bringing the cemetery to its present size. Because of the frigid winters, about 1,000 graves are dug each fall to be used for winter interments.

Monuments and Memorials

Fort Snelling contains a memorial pathway that is lined with a variety of veteran’s memorials from various organizations. As of Sept. 2004, there are 56 memorials at Fort Snelling National Cemetery—most commemorating soldiers of the 20th-century.  

NOTABLE BURIALS

Medal of Honor Recipients
Staff Sergeant Robert J. Pruden, ( Vietnam), 75th Infantry, U.S. Army. Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam, Nov. 29, 1969 (Section M, Grave 5710).

Private First Class Richard E. Kraus, (World War II), 8th Amphibious Tractor Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps. Pelelie, Palau Islands, Oct. 5, 1994 (Section DS, Grave 61A).

Private First Class James D. LaBelle, (World War II), 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division, U.S. Marine Corps. Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, March 8, 1945 (Section B-1, Grave 422S).

Captain Arlo Olson, (World War II), 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, U.S. Army. Crossing of the Volturno River, Italy, Aug. 31, 1944 (Section C-24, Grave 13787).

Machinist Mate First Class Oscar F. Nelson, U.S. Navy. On board the USS Bennington, July 21, 1905 (Section DS, Grave 64-N).

Captain George H. Mallon, (World War I), 132rd Infantry, 33rd Division, U.S. Army. Bois-de-Forges, France, Sept. 26, 1918 (Section DS, Grave 1-S).

Captain Richard E. Fleming, (World War II), Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron 241, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. June 4 & 5, 1942 (Memorialized in Section F-1).

For more information regarding Fort Snelling National Cemetery, please access their web site by clicking on: www.cem.va.gov/nchp/ftsnelling.htm

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