Fort Lyon National Cemetery 15700 County Road HH
Las Animas, CO 81054
Phone: (303) 761-0117
FAX: (303) 781-9378 To schedule burials: See General Information
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Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays.
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
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![Photo of the cemetery's iron-gated entrance. The cemetery's name is displayed on an bronze plaque attached to a stone square post.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090114070520im_/http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/images/cemphotos/889_ftlyon.jpg)
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Burial Space: This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains.
Acreage: 51.9
Number of Interments
Thru Fiscal Year 2008: 2,192
General Information Kiosk on Site? No
Floral/Ground Regulations
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Directions from nearest airport: The cemetery is located seven miles east of Las Animas on Highway 50 at the end of the Northeast Road. The nearest airport is in Pueblo County (approx. 87 miles west of Ft. Lyon on Route 50).
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GENERAL INFORMATION
To schedule a burial: Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
Fort Lyon National Cemetery is located in southeast Colorado, approximately five miles from the town of Las Animas, Colorado. Fort Logan National Cemetery is responsible for all administrative functions, including the scheduling of burials. Comprised of 52 acres, only 11 acres are currently developed and the cemetery is expected to have burial space for approximately the next 30 years.
Military Funeral Honors
In addition to active duty stations, which provide military funeral honors, there are local veteran's service organizations that also provide these services. Please contact Fort Logan National Cemetery at (303) 761-0117 for further information. back to top
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Fort Lyon is located in Bent County, Colo., seven miles east of Las Animas. The fort was originally named Fort Wise in honor of Henry A. Wise, governor of Virginia. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, it seemed inappropriate to have a Union fort named after the governor of a Southern state, and the name was changed. The new name Fort Lyon was chosen to honor Brevet Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed at the Battle of Wilson Creek on Aug. 10, 1861; he was the first Union general to die in battle.
Shortly after its establishment in 1887, Fort Lyon was moved to its current site just below the mouth of the Purgatoire River because floods at the original location threatened to destroy equipment and personal belongings. Within days of the move, the fort commander Captain Penrose began constructing new buildings. Fort Lyon is noted for being the last residence of the famous Army scout, trapper and adventurer, Christopher "Kit" Carson. Carson was brought to Fort Lyon's Dr. Henry Tilton for treatment of an illness that had been aggravated by a trip to Washington, D.C., during the proceeding winter on behalf of peaceable relations with the Ute Indians. Carson died of a ruptured aneurysm May 23, 1868.
The U.S. Army abandoned Fort Lyon in 1897 and its troops were transferred elsewhere. The remains of soldiers buried at the post were disinterred and moved to Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Nebraska. In 1906, the U.S. Navy took advantage of Colorado's mild, dry climate and opened a sanitarium for treating sailors and marines suffering from tuberculosis. On June 22, 1922, the Veteran's Bureau assumed operations and the hospital was opened to veterans from all branches of the service. In 1930, administration of the hospital was transferred to the newly created Veterans Administration and within three years the VA designated Fort Lyon a neuropsychiatry facility.
The original burials commenced in 1907 as the Naval hospital cemetery, and they continued under the Veteran's Bureau and Veterans Administration. Records indicate the first veteran interred at Fort Lyon was Youayoshi Hosi, a Japanese-American from Pennsylvania who served as a Navy warrant officer during the Spanish-American War. During World War I, German prisoners of war who had contracted tuberculosis were entitled to treatment in American hospitals under the Geneva Convention. A number of these prisoners resided at the Naval Hospital at Fort Lyon. Relations between German soldiers and the Americans were friendly and a custom was established for decorating the graves of two members of the German Imperial Navy interred in the national cemetery with the German flags on Memorial Day. The cemetery was transferred to the National Cemetery System in September 1973. back to top
NOTABLE PERSONS
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. They may be placed on the graves during the periods of Oct. 10 through April 15 and 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers. Grave floral blankets may not be larger in size than 2x3 feet.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury. back to top
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