Fayetteville National Cemetery

Fayetteville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on the southern side of the city of Fayetteville in Washington County, Arkansas. It encompasses 14.1 acres (57,100 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 7,126 interments.

History

The original plot of 5 acres (20,000 m²) of land for the National Cemetery was purchased from local residents in 1867, it was laid out in sections with space for around 1,800 interments. The first interments were remains moved from battlefield cemeteries of the Battle of Prairie Grove and the Battle of Pea Ridge. By 1871 there were 1,200 interments made in the cemetery, most of which were unidentified.

During World War II the cemetery was enlarged and five more sections were added.

In 1989, the Regional National Cemetery Improvement Corporation (a group of locals, veterans, and other concerned benefactors) raised enough money to purchase an additional three acres (12,000 m²) of land, and donated it to the cemetery.

Fayetteville National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1999.

Notable monuments

*The Revolutionary War Soldier Memorial, erected in the early 1990s.
*The Purple Heart Memorial, erected in 2000 to honor Purple Heart recipients.

Notable interments

*Private First Class Clarence B. Craft, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Okinawa during World War II.
*James C. Putnam, one of the founders of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
*Vance Randolph, noted Ozarks folklorist and author.

See also

*United States Department of Veterans Affairs
*United States National Cemetery

External links

* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/fayetteville.asp Fayetteville National Cemetery]