About 3-4 miles south of Maxwell, NE (pop. 312) on State Hwy 56A lies Fort McPherson National Cemetery. Established in 1863, the fort was originally built to protect travelers along the Oregon Trail. As western settlement progressed, the need for soldiers decreased and the fort took on a new role as a national cemetery.
The nation’s original national cemeteries were established on or near Civil War battlefields, but as veterans aged and dispersed, these first cemeteries became inaccessible to eligible honorably discharged Union Army veterans who desired a national cemetery as their final resting place. Fort McPherson was established as a national cemetery in 1873.
As Army closed its frontier posts, the soldiers buried in the post cemeteries were moved to Fort McPherson. Today, there are over 10,000 buried at Fort McPherson: some from the Indian Wars and some from more recent wars; most are known, but some are unknown due to weathered wood markers used in frontier cemeteries. They are all veterans who served their country and all are known to God. I salute them all on this Memorial Day.
Thought for the Day: It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. General George S. Patton
Larry's Blog 
Awesome blog this Memorial Day morning. God bless our men in uniform.
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Thanks, Larry, for the reminder. Our pastor also told us the day was originally called, “Decoration Day”, when families would gather to decorate the graves. Wish I could be in Omaha and Arapahoe to honor Mom, Dad, and all the others we love.
Mike and Barb have been here since Thursday and we’ve had several gatherings with Erin, Dylan, and his sister, Katie. We visited the Japanese Garden and Rose Test Garden yesterday afternoon. Simply glorious with all the roses blooming in time for next week’s Rose Festival. Today, M & B rode the MAX downtown to see Erin and Dylan’s work places. They’ll go to Cannon Beach tomorrow and fly home Thursday.
They would love to see you and your family this summer when you are in Estes Park. Hope it works out.
Love to you and Verna,
Sherrie
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