WWII Burials in Gettysburg National Cemetery

Gettysburg National Cemetery in 1940, prior to the reinterments of servicemembers lost in the Second World War. National Park Service.

November 19th is the 158th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, given at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, now Gettysburg National Cemetery. Located atop Cemetery Hill in the midst of America’s bloodiest battlefield, Lincoln delivered an immortal speech near the burials of those who had died for a “new birth of freedom.” In addition to the 3,512 interments from the Civil War, the cemetery includes the burials of several thousand servicemembers who served in later conflicts. Among that number are 590 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and other enlisted personnel who died during the Second World War.

In the years after the war, families had the option to bring their loved ones home from cemeteries abroad, and many chose to reinter them at Gettysburg National Cemetery. Over the past few years, staff at Eisenhower National Historic Site and Gettysburg National Military Park have worked diligently to tell the stories of some of those who “gave the last full measure of devotion” in service to the nation during that conflict. In addition to special programs, the next of which commemorates the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, they have created a series of videos to tell many of these stories.

Find them here: https://www.nps.gov/eise/learn/photosmultimedia/wwiignc.htm



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