Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery

Introduction

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The Southern Nevada State Veterans Cemetery is located on 79 acres of land owned and maintained by the State of Nevada. The tree-filled cemetery serves as a place of rest and reflection where United States military veterans are remembered and honored.

Images

The "missing man" public art at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

Backstory and Context

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Established in 1990, the 79-acre Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery is approximately 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas in the community of Boulder City, Nevada. The nearest Veterans Memorial Cemetery to Boulder City is the Riverside National Cemetery in California, approximately 245 miles west.

Among the Nevadans of note interred at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery is former Governor Mike O'Callaghan and his wife, Carolyn. O'Callaghan reportedly lied about his age to join the Marine Corps when he was 16, serving from 1946 to 1948. He then joined the Air Force in 1950 and later was transferred to the Army in 1952, losing part of his left leg during the Korean War.

Mike O'Callaghan served as Governor of Nevada from 1971 to 1979. After he left office, O'Callaghan became the executive editor of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper and also publisher of the Boulder City News and Henderson Home News.The bridge spanning the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona next to Boulder Dam bears O'Callaghan's name, as well as that of Army veteran Pat Tillman who died in combat in Afghanistan.

Other notable figures resting at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery include

actress Pamela Blake, actors Martin Azarow, Sonny Bupp, Steve Conte, director Joseph Behar, and musicians Ray Willard Pollard and Marv Koral.

Residents of Boulder City place American flags on thousands of veterans' graves for Memorial Day, along with the American Legion Post 31, American Auxiliary Unit 31, and many other local organizations. Over 25,000 flags were placed at the cemetery in 2018.

The Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery is entered from Veterans Memorial Drive, west of Route 93.

Sources

Rogers, Keith. "Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery receives expansion grant." Las Vegas Review Journal(Las Vegas)September 11, 2012.

Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Nevada Department of Veterans Services. . Accessed June 22, 2019. https://veterans.nv.gov/southern-nevada-veterans-memorial-cemetery/.

Veterans Services. City of Boulder City, Nevada. . Accessed June 22, 2019. https://www.bcnv.org/602/Veterans-Services.

Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Find A Grave. . Accessed June 22, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1979925/southern-nevada-veterans-memorial-cemetery.

Goodyear, Celia Shortt. "Ceremonies to mark Memorial Day." Boulder City Review(Boulder City)May 23, 2018. . https://bouldercityreview.com/news/ceremonies-to-mark-memorial-day-3/