Missouri State Veterans Cemetery – Springfield

Text

Standing alongside the nearby Springfield National Cemetery, the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Springfield offers a resting place for veterans of the modern era. The first cemetery built under the Missouri Veterans Commission program, the Springfield facility began construction in 1999 and opened to interments in January of 2000. Like the other State Veterans Cemeteries, funding primarily came from the state government, carrying out a program greenlit in the mid-90s and spearheaded by a Springfield native, State Representative Charles Raymond Wooten, Sr.

Wooten is one of the most prominent figures buried at the Springfield State Cemetery, having served his country both in the armed forces and in politics. After his years in the Navy during the Second World War, he worked for the US Postal Service for decades before entering politics. As a State Representative, Wooten was a member of the Missouri Veterans Commission, the same organization that pushed for the development of the five State Veterans Cemeteries across Missouri, and his support was instrumental in signing the program into law. After his passing in the summer of 2023, he was laid to rest in the very cemetery he helped to create.

Of course, not every veteran buried at the State Cemetery is as well known as Wooten, but that does not mean their final resting place is cared for with any less attention. Over the last decade, the cemetery has worked with groups like Wreaths Across America and Pitch in for Patriots to ensure that during the holiday season, every tombstone is honored with a wreath. The College of the Ozarks, located in Point Lookout, Missouri, organizes the wreath laying every year, and their work highlights the care taken by those working with and for veterans cemeteries across Missouri, and across the country.