For the first time, Black veterans laid to rest at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Manassas, Virginia, are receiving special recognition this Veterans Day.
The local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post recently learned about the African American cemetery and the fact it had been overlooked in traditional ceremonies.
Once located in the countryside, Rose Hill Cemetery is now surrounded by industrial buildings. It’s hard to see or find unless you know where to look. The cemetery dates back to the mid-1800s and was created during segregation. It’s now owned and maintained by the city.
“Growing up, it was the Black cemetery. It was where the African Americans all came,” said Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger.
When local VFW Post historian Jerry Martin recently learned about the cemetery, he was struck to find veterans’ graves, like that of Buffalo soldier George Butler. A few others are recognized at their gravesite for their military service. Martin realized there were likely many more veterans buried there whose markers were too old and worn to identify.
“When you look through the cemetery, you see how many unmarked plots there are. You know there are veterans resting in this place and they’re not identified and they’re not honored,” he said. “[…] Nothing was being done here and I said, ‘Why is that?’”
The VFW Post 75-89 and American Legion Post 10 immediately stepped up.
“He brought me up here and we looked and I said, we gotta get this, we gotta get this because if you look, there were a lot of veterans buried here but no one ever paid attention to it,” said Wayne Moore, VFW Post 7589 commander.
