Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery

Not to be confused with Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth National Cemetery, or USP Leavenworth Cemetary.

Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery
U.S.D.B. Cemetery Sign
Map
Details
Established1884[1][failed verification]
Location
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, US
CountryUnited States
Coordinates39°22′13″N 94°55′24″W / 39.37028°N 94.92333°W / 39.37028; -94.92333
Owned byUnited States Disciplinary Barracks
No. of graves299 (240 marked, 59 unmarked)
Find a GraveFort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery

Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery (also known as the United States Disciplinary Barracks Cemetery) is a cemetery maintained by the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison, Leavenworth County, Kansas. The purpose of this cemetery is for the burial of unclaimed bodies of soldiers who died in the United States Disciplinary Barracks.[2] It is the final resting place for 299 soldiers who died in the prison, 58 of whom lie in unmarked graves.[2] The majority of the soldiers who are buried in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery died between 1898 and 1905.[2]

The last known interment in the cemetery occurred under special circumstances in May 2023, when the remains of U.S. Navy Lt. Andrew Chabrol, who had been executed by Virginia in 1993 for the 1991 abduction, rape and murder of a female enlisted sailor, were relocated from a niche at the columbarium of Arlington National Cemetery in accordance with a provision in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.[3] [4]

Otherwise, as families of soldiers who die while in custody of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks are expected to claim the bodies, the U.S. military does not have any plan for future burials.

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[1]) in the military prison are buried in the northwest corner of the cemetery.[5]

  1. ^ a b Fort Leavenworth Historical Society, "German POW Execution"
  2. ^ a b c Fort Leavenworth Military Prison burial data from Interment.net
  3. ^ "At Arlington National Cemetery, a convicted killer rests among heroes". Washington Post. May 27, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sailor's killer to be removed from Arlington thanks to new law". Navy Times. April 12, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "Abolish Archives" 1 March, 1988 Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine