Oct. 21, 2010
The Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, has served as an official military cemetery since 1866. It is the fifth-most active national cemetery operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Thomas Yokes, left, Glenn Duckett, Kristian Golby, Vicki Cordes, and Ronald Wondolowski work together during a class at the National Cemetery Administration's National Training Center in St. Louis. To work at a national cemetery, landscapers, grave diggers, family representatives and cemetery directors must attend training courses in St. Louis that can last from four days to a year.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Terry Corkins from Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D., is taking a class at the National Cemetery Administration's National Training Center in St. Louis.
"It's different than landscaping a golf course or residential areas," NCA Acting Administrator Steve Muro said. "We wanted to make sure that veterans were taken care of with the dignity that they earned."
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Members of an interment team at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery position vault in a new section of the cemetery in St. Louis. In this section some vaults contain a casket with remains while others are being pre-positioned for future burials.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
A member of a U.S. Marine Corps honor guard waits for the interment ceremony to begin for Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Vinnedge, 19, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Oct. 13. He was a native of nearby St. Peters, Mo.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Marine pallbearers carry the casket of Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge to his grave.
Jefferson Barracks averages 18 burials a day, five days a week. The site once served as the Army?s first permanent base west of the Mississippi River.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Julie and David Vinnedge, parents of Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, walk from their son's resting place after his interment ceremony.
NCA Acting Administrator Steve Muro impresses upon new students the importance of their task: "We've got to give every family the same attention. We only get one chance to get this right. You can't back up the clock and do it again."
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Maria E. Garza, assistant director of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, monitors the progress of an interment ceremony.
Her favorite part of the job is "understanding that at the end of the day you know that you've done something that has impacted a person's life in a positive way."
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Members of the interment team at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery wait for a service to end before filling in the grave.
The NCA performed 111,800 burials last year, the most of any agency.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Oct. 21, 2010
Barry Dennis, a Marine veteran and member of the interment team at Jefferson Barracks, compacts dirt at a grave site. Five new NCA cemeteries are under construction to meet growing demand and as part of a goal to ensure that 90 percent of veterans live no more than 75 miles from a cemetery.
Sid Hastings-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Photo Editor, Producer Allison Slomowitz
