Fort Douglas Cemetery Records - Lost and Found!

Fort Douglas has one of Utah’s most fascinating cemeteries. Soldiers from many eras lie here beneath the grass. Even German prisoners of war are buried here—including some who were massacred by a guard who went bezerk at a prisoner of war camp in Salina.

Interesting as this cemetery’s stories are, its burial records have not been easy to get. Researchers have had to rely on a spreadsheet that contained partial information, a 1940s copy of the cemetery records, and a cemetery headstone survey.

When Fort Douglas was decommissioned in 1991, Fort Carson, in Colorado, took over administering the cemetery. Unfortunately, in the administrative move, the original cemetery records disappeared. Researchers who wanted to see the originals were out of luck.

Now the Good News

During a “spring-cleaning” of its storage areas, the Colorado office discovered several boxes of Fort Douglas Cemetery files. The lost had been found!

An officer went through the records to see if they contained information not available on the spreadsheet. She found several discrepancies and omissions.

Besides all that, the Army decided to return the records to their rightful place—the Fort Douglas Military Museum.

Staff members at the museum are now in the process of digitizing the records and making them available online. They are projecting that in Fall 2008 the records will be up and running and in the Utah Cemetery Burials Database.

More information

You can visit the Fort Douglas Military Museum Tuesday through Wednesday from 12 to 5 p.m. Or call them at 801/581-1251.

Search the Utah Cemetery Burials Database.