VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT:

The veterans' grave registration program in Minnesota began in 1927, with an amendment to Section 2440 of the General Statutes. The Adjutant General was given the duty, as part of the war records collection program, to maintain a permanent registry of the graves of all persons who served in the military or naval forces of the United States, and whose mortal remains rest in Minnesota (chapter 102, section 1, Laws of Minnesota 1927). Prior to this law, the Adjutant General was to have kept a complete list of all Minnesota residents who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, Philippine War, Mexican Border service, Indian Wars, and World War I. Included with each name was a military history of each person (chapter 506, section 47, Laws of Minnesota 1921).

In 1943, the duty of keeping the records was transferred to the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. The scope of the program was also increased in that year to include veterans of World War II, as well as all prior periods (chapter 420, section 5, Laws of Minnesota 1943).

In 1947 the legislature enacted Law 149.07, which further streamlined the record-gathering process (chapter 302, section 1, Laws of Minnesota 1947). The burden of registry was placed on the embalming and funeral services, which were required to send information on veterans to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Within Veterans Affairs, the Records Division handled the actual processing and storage of the documents.

By 1967, the graves registration program had been transferred to the Veterans Benefits Division of the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to the annual reports of the late 1960s, the Department of Veterans Affairs had begun to feel the pinch of budget constraints, while at the same time facing a new influx of problems and responsibilities from the Vietnam Conflict. In 1969, the graves registration program was eliminated from the duties of the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, quite possibly due to the budget constraints (chapter 275, section 2, Laws of Minnesota 1969).

As an example of the growth of the program over the years, there were 33,763 registered graves in 1944, and in 1952, nearly a decade later, there were over 55,000.

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Report forms for deceased veterans of the Civil and Indian wars, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korean War, and Vietnam War who are buried in Minnesota. They were compiled by the Veterans Affairs Department during the period 1930-1969. For the period 1970-1975, some counties (mainly Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Ramsey, and Swift) and the Fort Snelling cemetery continued to submit reports.

Information provided: veteran's name, date and place of enlistment, rank and organization, date and place of discharge, legal address or usual residence, birth date, death date, cause of death, name and address of next of kin, place of burial, name of cemetery and grave location.

These reports do not constitute a complete record of all veterans buried in Minnesota.

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Alphabetical by county, followed by separate sub-sets for Hennepin, Ramsey, and St. Louis counties and the Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

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Search the Minnesota People Records Search to find specific names in these veterans graves registration reports.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota. Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Graves Registration Reports. Minnesota Historical Society. State Archives.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 994-68

Processing Information:

Processed by: Marc Hanger, November 1993 (administrative history); Cheri Thies

Catalog ID number: 990017231190104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865 -- Veterans.

Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

Veterans -- Minnesota.

World War, 1914-1918 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

Places:

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Minnesota.

Document Types:

Burial records.

Functions:

Registering.

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