Memorials Inventory Project (MIP) Final Report, January 2006

The Memorials Inventory Project (MIP) was the first comprehensive survey undertaken by the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), or its predecessors to document monuments in national cemeteries and soldiers’ lots under its management. The project was the brainchild of former NCA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, Mrs. Robin L. Higgins. The project was directed by the NCA History Program, Communications Management Service.

The fieldwork phase of the NCA’s MIP officially concluded on December 31, 2004. For the entirety of 2005, the NCA staff continued to work on several aspects of the materials submitted by the volunteers. At the project’s onset in May 2002, it was estimated that 300 memorials would be found in the 120 national cemeteries and 33 soldier’s lots under NCA’s jurisdiction. This report provides final numbers for these memorials, affiliated structures inventoried, and volunteers. It also provides the initial analysis of survey data, as well as highlights of the three-year project as of January 2006.

The MIP was modeled on the Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) program, a joint project of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American Art Museum that began in the 1990s. In 2001, NCA Senior Historian Sara Amy Leach, collaborated with SOS! staff to develop survey forms, written instructions for volunteers and cemetery staff, and strategies to attract volunteers. The project was officially “kicked off” during Historic Preservation Week in May 2002 with media announcements and a “call” for project volunteers to conduct the inventory.

In July 2002, a second NCA historian, Darlene Richardson, assumed management of the MIP. A project database was created in Microsoft Access to track project progress and for reporting purposes. Periodic project updates were made available to the public and to project participants on the NCA Web site during the course of the project.

The purpose of the MIP was to identify, document, and assess the condition of all NCA monuments and memorials. Initially the project scope targeted only monuments erected before 1960 in order to capture the most historic and significant structures. Volunteers often photographed other objects and cemetery scenes while visiting their assigned cemetery sites, so when their completed project materials started to arrive in Washington, D.C., and were evaluated, History Program staff determined that many newer monuments—those installed after 1960—contained artistic features that should be recorded, as well. As a result, in summer 2003, the project was expanded to include memorials of all ages that featured graphic elements.

The project operated under a multi-stepped process: potential volunteers contacted NCA’s Central Office in Washington, D.C., where volunteer registration and assignments were made. Project volunteers were mailed survey forms, instructions, and black-and-white film. All volunteers were provided with standard “job descriptions,” legal waivers, and standard the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Voluntary Service forms to sign, to assure proper project registration and to track the number of volunteer hours donated to the project.

Volunteers were asked to record all memorial inscriptions, take measurements, write detailed narrative descriptions, make notes on physical condition, and conduct local research to learn the history of the monuments. For sites where no memorials were originally reported, volunteers were asked to visit the cemeteries and confirm or to report otherwise. Volunteers recorded memorial information on a five-page survey form. Volunteers photographed all sides of the memorials, as well as relevant design details.

Volunteers submitted all project materials to the nearest supervising national cemetery, as indicated in their assignment letters. The cemetery staff was responsible for entering the survey data into an online database form designed exactly like the field form. Then they submitted all project materials—including completed forms, labeled photographs and negatives, and research materials—to the NCA History Program office. This was completed in December 2004 and marked the conclusion of the first phase of the MIP.

The second phase of the project began in January 2005. Project materials were reviewed, organized and archived in acid-free enclosures. Missing components were located. Historian Richardson reviewed and compared database information against the handwritten survey forms, correcting and editing as needed. The processing of 6,619 photographs and negatives was completed, as well as a general analysis of all submitted materials.

During 2005, the MIP database transitioned into the NCA Memorials Database. This database preserves the original MIP data and records new monuments and memorials installed on NCA properties on a permanent and on-going basis. Preliminary MIP findings revealed that an unexpectedly high number of memorials had been installed since 1985. To assure that data on memorials installed after December 2004 was captured, cemetery directors were tasked with the responsibility for submitting a short “New Memorial or Monument Report” to the History Program in a timely fashion. This information is then added to the database.

The third phase of the project will take place in 2006 and 2007. It will result in the NCA Memorials Database being migrated into a Re: Discovery software database. Then the fourth and last phase is slated for completion by 2010: this will result in a searchable database of all NCA memorials accessible through the Internet. Until the interactive function is available, a listing of NCA memorials will be posted on the NCA Web page and updated periodically.

Initial project announcement notices were predominantly sent to publications serving veteran service organizations and military retirees. For the first 18 months of the project—between May 2002 and October 2003—roughly 700 potential volunteers contacted NCA about the Memorials Inventory Project. Another “call” issued in early November 2003 resulted in overwhelming interest and the most volunteers.

Project announcements and notices were duplicated by other organizations and distributed in many newspapers and publications. NCA received telephone calls and emails from around the world—including countries in Western Europe, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, as well as all regions of the United States. Unfortunately, there were no national cemeteries or soldiers lots located near many inquirers, so only a moderate number of project assignments were made. As a notable reflection of which mode of communication the public chose to use: of 2,974 inquiries, 772 were made by telephone; 2,189 were made through e-mail; and 13 were made by letter. Of the publications identified by potential volunteers, the Navy retiree magazine Shift Colors resulted in the most inquiries about the project: 219.

Project volunteers ranged vastly in age and employment status. The majority of MIP volunteers were active-duty military personnel and employed professionals, followed by retirees, then students. Many volunteers requested additional assignments after completion of their first one, and a number of volunteers documented memorials at multiple sites.

Upon completion of their memorial assignments, project volunteers received an official thank you letter along with a lapel pin (right) with the NCA logo and the word “Volunteer” inscribed across the top. In all, 372 volunteers completed their project work and documented more than 1,000 memorial objects. Volunteers donated a total 3,405 hours of their time to this project.