Walking through the gates of Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a heavy experience. It’s quiet. You’re looking at over 400 acres of rolling green hills in Minneapolis, punctuated by hundreds of thousands of identical white marble headstones. If you are there to find a grave at Fort Snelling, the sheer scale hits you immediately. It isn't just a local graveyard; it is one of the busiest national cemeteries in the United States.
Honestly, if you show up without a plan, you’re going to spend hours wandering in circles.
Finding a specific site involves more than just reading names. You have to understand the grid. You have to understand how the VA catalogs veterans. Most importantly, you need to know which digital tools actually work and which ones are just outdated scrapers. People get frustrated because they think they can just "wing it" based on a memory of a funeral from ten years ago. It doesn't work like that. The sections look identical. The trees grow. The landmarks change.
The Reality of the National Gravesite Locator
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) runs a database called the Nationwide Gravesite Locator. This is your primary tool. Don't rely on third-party sites that promise "exclusive" records for a fee. They're usually just pulling data from the VA anyway. When you use the official tool, you need the veteran's full name, and it helps—a lot—to have birth and death dates.
Why? Because there are dozens of people with the same name.
Imagine looking for a "Robert Johnson" at Fort Snelling. There are hundreds of them. Without a middle initial or a specific year of death, the search results will overwhelm you. The database provides a Section number and a Grave number. Write these down. Take a screenshot. Don't assume you'll have five bars of LTE deep in the cemetery, because sometimes the signal drops near the back sections toward the airport.
Why GPS Coordinates Are Your Best Friend
Fort Snelling is situated right next to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. You’ll hear the roar of planes overhead while you’re looking for a plot. It’s a strange juxtaposition of modern life and permanent rest.
If you have a smartphone, use a dedicated grave-finding app like BillionGraves or Find A Grave, but verify the data against the VA’s records. Some volunteers have gone out and physically geotagged headstones. This allows you to walk right to the spot using your phone’s GPS. It’s much more efficient than trying to count rows from the curb.
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Row counting is a nightmare.
You think you’re on Row 12, but you accidentally skipped a sunken marker or a shorter row near a walkway. Suddenly, you’re looking at the wrong headstone and wondering if you’re in the right section at all. GPS eliminates that human error. If you find a grave at Fort Snelling using coordinates, you’ll see that the cemetery is meticulously organized, even if it feels like a maze to the uninitiated.
Understanding the Section Layout
The cemetery is divided into lettered and numbered sections. The older areas, like Section A or Section B, feel different. The stones are weathered. The history feels denser. As you move toward the newer sections, the layout becomes more rigid and expansive.
- Section 1 through Section 20: These are the older, established areas closer to the main entrance and the original administration buildings.
- The New Growth: Fort Snelling has undergone multiple expansions. Some sections are massive, containing thousands of graves, while others are small "islands" tucked between roads.
- The Columbarium: If you are looking for a veteran who was cremated, they might be in the columbarium walls rather than in the ground. These are large stone structures with niches. The numbering system here is different, often involving a wall number and a specific row/column on that wall.
Don't ignore the "Memorial" sections. Sometimes, a veteran is memorialized at Fort Snelling even if their remains aren't there—perhaps they were lost at sea or remain MIA. These markers look just like the others but will often have an "In Memory Of" inscription.
The Human Element: Visiting the Admin Building
If the technology fails you, or if you’re just old-fashioned, head to the Administration Building. It’s located near the main entrance on 34th Avenue. Inside, they have public kiosks. They’re basically ruggedized computers that let you search the same database, but they also print out a physical map.
The staff there are incredibly professional. They deal with grieving families every day, but they also deal with historians and genealogists. If you’re struggling to find a grave at Fort Snelling because the records are confusing, ask them. They can clarify if a grave is in a "re-opened" plot (where a spouse was recently buried with a veteran) or if the marker is currently being replaced.
Marble headstones don't last forever. They get stained, they chip, and sometimes they sink into the soft Minnesota soil after a particularly brutal winter. The VA periodically replaces these. If you find the spot but the stone is missing, there’s a good chance it’s in the middle of a maintenance cycle.
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The Best Time to Visit
Minnesota weather is a factor you can't ignore.
In the winter, the snow can be waist-deep. The cemetery staff does an amazing job plowing the roads, but they do not shovel paths to every individual headstone. If you visit in January, you might be trekking through deep drifts just to see a name. Bring boots. Real ones.
Spring is muddy. The ground thaws and becomes a literal sponge.
Memorial Day is the busiest time of the year. If you want a peaceful, reflective experience, avoid the weekend of Memorial Day. Thousands of people descend on the grounds to place flags. It's beautiful, but it's loud and crowded. For a quiet visit, Tuesday or Wednesday mornings are usually best. You’ll have the place mostly to yourself, save for a few groundskeepers and the occasional funeral procession.
Finding Notable Figures
While every grave at Fort Snelling represents a life of service, many people come to find specific historical figures. There are several Medal of Honor recipients buried here.
Finding these requires the same process, but the headstones often have gold-leaf lettering or distinct inscriptions that denote their status. For example, Captain Richard E. Fleming, a Marine pilot who received the Medal of Honor posthumously after the Battle of Midway, is memorialized here.
Walking among these markers provides a visceral sense of history. You realize that Fort Snelling isn't just a cemetery; it’s a ledger of American conflict from the Civil War to the present day. You'll see markers for the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the recent conflicts in the Middle East.
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Dealing with Inaccuracies in Online Records
Data entry errors happen. A clerk in 1954 might have misspelled a last name, or a digit might have been swapped in the grave number. If you’ve searched the Nationwide Gravesite Locator and come up empty, try searching with just the last name and the branch of service.
Also, check the spelling. Sometimes "Mac" becomes "Mc," or a name like "Smyth" was recorded as "Smith."
If you are a descendant and you find a factual error on a headstone or in the record, you can actually request a correction. It requires documentation—usually a DD-214 or a birth/death certificate—but the VA is generally diligent about keeping these records accurate for future generations.
Practical Steps for Your Visit
Before you put your shoes on and head out the door, do these things:
- Check the Gravesite Locator online before you leave home. Write down the Section, Row, and Grave number.
- Download a PDF map of Fort Snelling National Cemetery from the VA website. The physical maps at the kiosk are great, but having one on your phone is a good backup.
- Charge your phone. If you're using GPS to navigate the 400+ acres, your battery will drain faster than usual.
- Bring water and a portable chair if you plan to stay a while. There aren't many places to sit out in the sections, and the walk from the parking areas can be longer than you expect.
- Check the funeral schedule. The cemetery website often lists the daily "Interment Schedule." If you want to avoid traffic and crowds, try to time your visit when fewer services are scheduled.
When you finally stand at the grave, take a moment. The bustle of the airport and the nearby highway 62 fades into the background. Whether you're there for a parent, a grandparent, or a research project, the connection to the past is tangible. Finding a grave at Fort Snelling is a logistical task, sure, but it's also a deeply personal one. Once you have the coordinates, the rest of the world seems to get a little quieter.
If you're planning to visit, start your search at the Department of Veterans Affairs website to get your section and plot numbers verified. If the name doesn't appear, try searching the "Pre-1997" microfilm records often held by local genealogical societies or the Minnesota Historical Society, as some older transfers weren't digitized with the same level of detail as modern burials. Once you have the location, use a satellite map view to identify the nearest access road, as some sections are far from the main perimeter paths.