Rock Island National Cemetery
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NRHP Rock Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located within Rock Island Arsenal near the city of Rock Island, Illinois. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses Template:Convert, and as of the end of 2006, had 24,525 interments.[1] The cemetery is also nearing compliance with the National Shrine guidelines, due to its use of college students during the summer to reset and realign stones. When looking from any one stone there should be seven lines visible and all should be straight.
History
The cemetery was established in 1863 as a place to inter the remains of American Civil War Union army soldiers. Its initial placement interfered with the expansion of the Arsenal's facilities, so it was moved to a location on the northern end of the island. Civil War veterans who were interred in Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, Iowa, were later disinterred and moved to the National Cemetery. Property transfers from the Arsenal in 1926, 1936, and 1950 increased the cemetery's area. There are plans for further expansion of this cemetery including an additional pavilion, more land, and a wall for cremations near the tank track.
A second, Template:Convert cemetery was established near Rock Island National Cemetery to bury Confederate prisoners of war, nearly two thousand of which would die while in captivity on the island, primarily from the harsh living conditions.
Notable interments
Medal of Honor recipients
- Private First Class Edward J. Moskala (1921–1945), United States Army Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II
- Private First Class Frank P. Witek (1921–1944), United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II
Other burials
- Gene Baker (1925–1999), Major League Baseball player, coach, and scout[2]
- Lane Evans (1951–2014), Congressman, Illinois's 17th congressional district[3]
- Jeff Pfeffer (1888–1972), Major League Baseball player from 1911 to 1924[4]
- Brevet Brigadier General Thomas Jackson Rodman (1816–1871), commander at the Rock Island Arsenal and developer of the Rodman gun
- Ralph Ignatowski (1926–1945), Rifleman, Battle of Iwo Jima
References
External links
- Rock Island National Cemetery at the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration
- Template:HALS
- Template:HALS
- Template:GNIS
- Template:Find a Grave cemetery
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- ↑ Cemeteries – Rock Island National Cemetery – Burial & Memorials
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- Illinois in the American Civil War
- Quad Cities
- Protected areas of Rock Island County, Illinois
- United States national cemeteries
- National Register of Historic Places in Rock Island County, Illinois
- Historic American Landscapes Survey in Illinois
- Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
- Cemeteries in the Quad Cities
- Tourist attractions in Rock Island, Illinois
- 1863 establishments in Illinois
- Cemeteries established in the 1860s