Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery

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The U.S.D.B. cemetery sign

Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery is a cemetery maintained by the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison. The purpose of this cemetery is for the burial of unclaimed bodies of soldiers who died in the United States Disciplinary Barracks. ^[1] It is the final resting place for 298 soldiers who died in the prison, 58 of which lie in unmarked graves.^[1] The majority of the soldiers who are buried in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery died between 1898 and 1905.^[1] The last known burial in the cemetery was in 1957, ten years after the one preceding it.^[1] Since families are expected to claim the bodies these days, the U.S. military does not have any plan for a burial if the situation arises again.^[1]

A headstone in the back row (11th) of a German POW buried at the site. This prisoner was hanged for the murder of Johannes Kunze.

Fourteen German prisoners of war who were executed in 1945 (for the murders of fellow-POWs Johannes Kunze, Horst Günther and Werner Drechsler) in the military prison are buried in the northwest corner of the cemetery.^[2] An unknown lady of German descent, who resides in the nearby city of Leavenworth, visits the cemetery periodically to place flowers on their graves.^[1]

The cemetery is difficult to find and visitors who are not aware of its exact location may need to get directions.^[3]

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