LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On this Memorial Day, we remember the millions of people who've sacrificed for our country and our freedoms.
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery's the final resting place for more than 11,000 service men and women. It's one of 155 national cemeteries managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Kentucky's VA Commissioner Whitney Allen was the keynote speaker at Monday's ceremony, which included wreath presentations followed by rifle volleys and Taps.
It's a place of reflection and tranquility nestled alongside Brownsboro Road.
"Everyone who comes to Zachary Taylor comments about what a beautiful setting this is. You know, I think kind of being surrounded in a suburban area. It's got mature trees here. It does have rolling hills. You know, it's just a very scenic cemetery," Scott Giltner, the National Veterans Committee Chairman for the Sons of the American Revolution said.
An act of Congress recognized Zachary Taylor as a national cemetery in 1926. Today, the cemetary is the final resting place for soldiers dating back to the Revolutionary War and as current as Iraqi Freedom.
"Zachary Taylor is kind of an older cemetery. So the family for a lot of these veterans have moved on, they're not in the area anymore. And so a lot of these guys really don't get the attention, they would say if they're in a more contemporary National Cemetery," Giltner said. "So particularly for Zachary Taylor, we got to keep focused on it. Just to remind ourselves and remind the community what these veterans did for us throughout the years."
A monument of its namesake -- America's 12th president, Zachary Taylor, who was a career U.S. Army officer -- towers 50 feet high, overlooking not one but two of his burial sites.
"That is the original spot where Zachary Taylor was buried when he was brought to Kentucky when he passed away in July of 1850. He was initially buried at the congressional burial grounds near Washington, D.C. and then in 1851, almost a year later, he was brought to Kentucky he was brought down by steamboat on the Ohio River," he added.
His resting place was later viewed as inadequate for a president, and so he was later moved in 1926 into a new mausoleum feet away. Taylor's remains would endure one final disturbance.
"Some people were theorizing that he was poisoned by some of his political opponents in the South," Giltner said.
In 1991, Taylor was exhumed for analysis, quickly determining the president died of natural causes. Today, he rests alongside names like Robley Rex who served in World War I, and John Squires, a WWII Medal of Honor recipient.
"One of the things we like to say, is a person dies twice, there's a physical death that you go through. And then the second death is last time somebody says your name," Giltner said. "We kind of like to make sure that for a lot of these vets, we come out here that people go and visit these graves even it's somebody they don't know and just read their name aloud, and thank them for their service."
On this holiday weekend, you'll find flags at many of the gravesites of our servicemen and women across the country, placed by local Scouts or the VFW.
Come December, Wreaths Across America takes on the task of placing a wreath at each of these gravesites. Learn how you can sponsor a wreath, volunteer or partner with the organization here.
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