Memorials Inventory Project (MIP) - Project Update, March 10, 2004

As of March 10, 2004, the Memorials Inventory Project (MIP) has progressed to nearly 60 percent completion. When the project began in May 2002, it was estimated that there were 300 memorials in national cemeteries and soldiers’ lots under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The project was originally scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31, 2002.

As the survey got underway, additional memorials were reported or discovered and 300 memorials were added to the inventory list in the summer of 2003. Due to the increase in memorials, the project deadline was extended.

A subsequent call for volunteers was announced in November 2003 and it was reported by many media outlets and veterans organizations. As a result, NCA received an overwhelming response from over 2,500 individuals interested in volunteering for the project. More than 3,000 people have contacted NCA since the program’s inception.

To date, 247 volunteers have completed work on 496 memorials and 124 volunteers are currently documenting memorials at several cemeteries. The total NCA count (as of March 10, 2004) is 802 memorials—nearly triple the original estimate. Only 15 memorials in Minnesota have yet to be assigned to volunteers.

The MIP has proved very popular with the public and the opportunity to volunteer has attracted persons of all ages and interests. As a result, NCA hopes to utilize volunteers for future projects in its national cemeteries and soldiers’ lots.

Most volunteers provided NCA with positive feedback about their survey experiences. We would like to share some of the more remarkable accounts and tidbits:

Volunteers Mike and Peggy Bunyan traveled the farthest distance to document memorials for the project. They documented memorials at Ft. Crawford and Ft. Winnebago in Wisconsin, then traveled 4,500 miles to Hawaii and documented six more memorials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The most memorials documented by one person took place at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, where volunteer Carla Caretto documented 25 memorials.

David Edwards, director, and Joanie Evans, administrative and program specialist, of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources’ Winchester Regional Office, in Winchester, Va., documented all 16 of the Civil War-era memorials at Winchester National Cemetery.

Volunteer Donald Hannum documented the largest NCA memorial, the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville, Pa. Dedicated in 2001, it measures 107 feet high, 85 feet wide, and 360 feet deep. Hannum provided blueprints, dedication ceremony programs, newspaper articles, and numerous other interesting materials to document this unique building.

The MIP has attracted the interest of many professional photographers and enthusiasts, retirees, genealogists, active and retired military personnel, professional and avocational historians, scholars, government and VA employees. Thirty-five VA employees from across the country have participated in the project to date.

An assembly of about 20 active military personnel and officers from Hickam Air Force base in Hawaii documented memorials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Smaller groups of military personnel from Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and Scott Air Force Base, Ill., also volunteered.

Several groups of young people have participated in the MIP, including high-school history classes and scout troops. Two high school teachers—one from Ohio and the other from Virginia—used the project as a means to instruct students in Civil War history. Teacher Paul LaRue and his research history students from Washington County High School, Ohio, documented memorials at Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery and Johnson’s Island/Confederate Stockade Cemetery in Ohio, as well as memorials at Crown Hill and Crown Hill Confederate Cemetery, near Indianapolis, Ind. John Wilkes and his history students at Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, Va., documented memorials at three area national cemeteries: Cold Harbor, City Point and Seven Pines.

Thus far, MIP data has revealed that nearly 20 percent of NCA’s memorials are more that 100 years old. Most of these commemorate Civil War soldiers. The 1880s were the busiest 19th-century decade for dedications, with 58 memorials—including commemorative artillery—installed throughout the national cemeteries. The smallest number of memorials, only four, were erected in the 1960s.

The millennium decade may prove a record-breaker for new memorials. During the 1990s, 165 memorials were installed and since the year 2000, at least 155 memorials have been added. Dates for 218 memorials are not yet confirmed, but most of these are likely less than 14 years old.

Based on confirmed dates of memorials, below is a table that shows when memorials were installed in NCA national cemeteries and soldiers’ lots. This information is subject to change as dates are determined or confirmed.

In November 2003, 18 employees of the Wells Fargo Company—all veterans—volunteered to document the remaining memorials in the state of California. Known as the Wells Fargo Military Veterans Resource Group, California Chapter, they completed the documentation of memorials at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco, Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, and Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.