By Worcester P. Bong
Noted in last week’s article, the National Cemeteries Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-43) authorized the Veterans Administration (VA) to manage over 100 national cemeteries. The VA was tasked with acquiring land to develop cemeteries (new and existing) and establishing uniform burial eligibility criteria and policies to manage these cemeteries. The building of columbaria walls to meet cremation needs and the introduction of grant programs to expand state-run Veterans' cemeteries were implemented.
In October of 1974, Prescott National Cemetery was closed to new casket burials. As the only national cemetery in Arizona, a proposal was submitted to Congress in January 1975 for a new national cemetery. At the time, the nearest national cemeteries where Arizona veterans could be buried was in California or Texas.
Though the 1975 proposal was unsuccessful at the federal level, a 1976 state law was passed to develop a state veteran’s cemetery in Phoenix. This cemetery, called the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, was dedicated in December, 1978. It became a national cemetery when it was officially transferred to the VA on April 1, 1989. Also in 1989, the VA was elevated to a cabinet-level agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).
Nine years later, DVA re-designated the National Cemetery System as the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). The following year, Prescott National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
DVA national cemeteries were not immune to controversy. In several newspapers around the nation, excerpts from an October 2002 federal report were published noting issues at many national cemeteries. The November 3, 2002, edition of the Daily Courier noted the Prescott National Cemetery was characterized in this report as “shabby and unkempt.” In the November 23, 2002, edition of the El Paso Times, an article titled “Most national cemeteries need much repair” reported the Prescott National Cemetery as one of three to get a “poor rating.”
In the November 25, 2002, edition of the Arizona Republic, Philip Fesmire, the Prescott VA Hospital Facility Manager at the time, stated several improvements were completed since the federal report’s release. Other repairs required additional money. Mr. Fesmire noted that $2.4 million had been earmarked to soon build a 3,000-niche columbarium wall at the Prescott National Cemetery.
On February 4, 2007, the new columbarium wall, located along the western side of the Prescott National Cemetery, was completed. A dedication ceremony took place on March 29th as reported in the April 2, 2007, edition of the Daily Courier.
Seven years later, $1.6 million ($2 million today) in renovations took place at the cemetery. These renovations included new sidewalks, landscaping, utilities, a larger committal shelter and a monument entrance sign.
In November 2018, the last niche in the western columbarium wall was assigned. At the same time, construction began on a 3,536-niche columbarium wall along the east side. A year later, when the newly built columbarium wall was nearly finished, the January 1, 2020, edition of the Daily Courier reported that inurnments resumed in late December 2019.
In 2023 the Department of Veterans Affairs celebrated fifty years managing the NCA. At the Prescott National Cemetery, the current columbarium wall is approximately 40% full, with plans for a new columbarium wall further to the east currently in progress. Besides the two national cemeteries in Prescott and Phoenix, there are five VA grant-funded cemeteries located throughout the state.
As for notable persons laid to rest at the Prescott National Cemetery, they are: Medal of Honor recipient Nicholas Foran, Major General Stephen T. Keefe, Jr., Apache Scout Joseph (Jus Go Dey) Howell and former Whipple VA Hospital Director Paul Schmoll.
A wreath from Wreaths Across America (WAA) is currently viewable at the Sharlot Hall Museum’s Governor’s Mansion.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.