Behind each marker at Fort Logan lies a human, and with each human lies countless stories. This is a collection of distinct identities, motivations, and legacies. This is storytelling through voice, word and experience.
This is human history.
Thousands of identical white headstones stand at attention among the rolling hills of Fort Logan National Cemetery, seeming to offer a single story, a statement, of life as a US service member. But in the space between the monuments lie countless stories, distinct in their details yet united in their humanity. More Than A Headstone, a project of the National Cemetery Administration’s Veteran’s Legacy Program, invites you to uncover these stories, and embark on a journey of curiosity, connection, and collective healing.
MTAH has activated a dynamic team of student researchers from the University of Denver, tasked with researching, translating, and presenting the varied stories of service members buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery. With intention and care, students deeply into the lives of interred soldiers, interviewing family members, sifting through artifacts and compiling deeply personal accounts. The result: a complex tapestry of human histories, woven together by a shared experience.
MTAH pays attention to stories of service members that are often untold. By amplifying the voices of those often left out of the dominant narrative, we add texture to the collective story of the US military.
Join as us we witness, reflect and connect with one another.
Fill out our form with the information of a veteran interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery and we will seek to match a student researcher to write a biography for this website.
“...It is the preservation of wilderness areas, national parks, and monuments that give us fleeting glimpses of the wonders that nature has created. It is the parks, the gardens, and other recreational facilities that provide a constructive outlet for our leisure time.
After serving in the military during World War II, Roger Cisneros became a legal pioneer in Colorado.
Byron Johnson was an athlete, educator, and advocate for civil rights. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the grandson of a slave, his life would take on numerous challenges and opportunities.
World War II disrupted her plans, as it did for the thousands of other young women who enlisted in women’s reserves such as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and the Coast Guard SPARS.
When the world is at war the courageous and the brave come together to fight for the freedom of the oppressed. The 1940s was a time when countries like the United States called upon young men and women to help end the destruction happening all over the world.
World War Two was a difficult time for many Americans and other citizens all over the globe. The choice between country and self-preservation was difficult.
Despite her family’s poverty, Margaret was always adventurous. In 1944, months after turning 18, she enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (known as the SPARS).
There are 2,371 people interred in Fort Logan who have received the Purple Heart, an award that is given to those in the military who are wounded or killed in battle. Of those 2,371 veterans, two are women.
Richard Oskar Menzel was born in Leipzig, Germany on June 14, 1897. He immigrated to the United States on the S.S. Württemberg on November 10, 1921.
These tours will feature a variety of categories and take the user on both a physical and digital journey to meet the service members featured in this project.
On April 14, 2022, seven Veterans were given a proper interment at Fort Logan National Cemetery. Each of these Veterans served their country in wartime and in peacetime. Unfortunately, the cremated remains of each of these Veterans remained in storage at a funeral home in the Denver area for years, as no family members came forward. This situation is not unusual.
Risk is an inherent part of military service as veterans often suffer life-altering injuries, develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or never come home at all. Over the course of US history, hundreds of thousands of veterans have endured months or even years as prisoners of war.
Many veterans of the United States Armed Forces enter the military at a very young age. Young people, barely out of high school, are sent straight to the front lines to defend their country.
Near the turn of the twentieth century, as the United States looked to continue to extend its power and markets south and west (including the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia), violence and bloodshed continued. While Spain’s colonies in Asia and the Caribbean fought for freedom from Spanish colonial rule, some U.S. officials found this an opportune situation for the United States to step in.
At the University of Denver, non-veteran students participating in the Veterans Legacy Program not only discover the significance of veteran contributions to college campuses, they realize that veterans are everywhere on campus and in the larger community.
Women have served both on the battlefront and closer to home in official military capacities throughout U.S. history. In Fort Logan National Cemetery, over 2,300 women are interred.
In spite of unequal treatment, numerous peoples of color and members of immigrant populations asserted their American identities in military conflicts in the twentieth century and beyond, serving their country with patriotism and valor, and finding opportunities amidst the obstacles.
Sometimes a service member’s family has to wait through painful decades before they can finally lay their loved one to rest with the military honors they deserve.
Americans who fought in U.S. wars often held complicated relationships with the enemy, and veteran life histories put these complexities in full relief.
Do you have a story to share? Would you like to learn more about how to support this project? We want to hear from you. Contact us today.
