By Mrs. Pamela Helbing-Schafer, Director North Dakota Veterans Cemetery
The N.D. Veteran's Cemetery was established by an act of the 1989 N.D. Legislative Assembly. The cemetery was opened in 1992, and is operated by the office of the adjutant general of North Dakota. It is located 6.5 miles south of Mandan on Highway 1806 on a 70 acre tract of land near Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. This cemetery is dedicated to the men and women who have served this state and nation with distinction and honor. Today interments of military members and their dependents number 9,522. Of these 69% are male and 31% are female. Solders lead interments with 3,942 (62%) followed by Sailors 1,315 (21%), Airmen 732 (12%), Marines 349 (5%), and members of the Coast Guard 24 (less than 1%). According to the director, Pam Helbling-Schafer, the cemetery has enough space available for the next 23 years.
Besides the annual Memorial Day ceremony hosted by the N.D. National Guard, the cemetery hosts about 10 funerals and interment services every week. Within the past year, two N.D. Sailors who were killed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 were interred. For more information to include eligibility for burial, cost, regulations and more, please chick to visit the N.D. Veterans Cemetery website.
