Cemetery

Cemetery. A Field of Stones. , Tucked away in what was once a secluded corner, the cemetery was to be the final resting place for those soldiers and their immediate family members who died at Fort Worden. The first burial in the 360 plots was that of Pvt. Elisha Webb, in June 1902. Today the cemetery includes veterans from the Spanish-American War through Vietnam, and from all branches of the service. The headstones also record the deaths of children and infants, and two unknown people., In the early days of the fort, memorial services were usually for the garrison alone. In town, citizens paraded to local cemeteries every Memorial Day in recognition of the dead of the Civil War, it being at that time the nation's most recent and moving conflict. They were often accompanied by the band from Fort Worden. Today the Fort Worden cemetery has become a special place to recognize those who died in military service. Every Memorial Day, community volunteers ensure that each grave is decorated with an American flag. This small field of remembrance remains under the care of the federal government., [Photo captions, left to right, read] , . An early Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) ceremony complete with troops and band. In the United States, the annual observance of military war dead began after the Civil War., . Soldiers stand in respect behind the headstones at a service prior to World War I. The same type of headstone was used for all burials - men, women, and children, service members or not.