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Genuine heroes laid to rest at Omaha National VA Cemetery

Down the Road: Since its acquisition in 2012, Omaha National Cemetery has been the final resting place for our military heroes and their families.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

November 11, 2024

2 Min Read
Military cemetery
SOME GAVE ALL: Hundreds of military heroes are laid to rest among the perfectly aligned white markers at the Omaha National VA Cemetery in Sarpy County, Neb., on the south side of Omaha.Curt Arens

It is a somber walk among the perfectly aligned white markers honoring the final resting place for hundreds of U.S. military veterans and their family members at Omaha National VA Cemetery. This 236-acre cemetery will eventually serve the burial needs of more than 112,000 veterans over the next century.

First acquired in 2012 for $6.2 million, the cemetery in Sarpy County, just off Interstate 80 on the south side of Omaha, is among the newest Midwest cemeteries to be added to the National Cemetery network in the U.S. It was dedicated on Aug. 5, 2016, with the first interments taking place Sept. 27 that same year.

There are special requirements for burial at Omaha. It is for veterans and members of the armed forces of the U.S. who die on active duty, or any veteran who was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The first interments at Omaha included Army Spc. Michael Brabec, Marine Cpl. John F. Ernst, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Rosberg and Air Force Sgt. James Edgell.

Notable heroes

Since those first burials, other notable interments include Melvin Carl Anderson, who was a World War II sergeant in Company C, 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, supporting fighting near Grosshau, Germany. On Dec. 21, 1944, he was killed in action and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster posthumously.

Related:War dead honored at Fort McPherson National Cemetery

Another notable burial includes Wilfred Louis Ebel, who served as the fifth director of what is now the National Cemetery Association. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and in civilian life, he held appointments in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush administrations.

Omaha is the second national cemetery in Nebraska. The first, Fort McPherson National Cemetery, was established near Maxwell, Neb., in 1873 at the site of a Civil War fort built in 1863 to ensure peace between overland emigrants on the Oregon Trail and native tribes inhabiting the region.

Omaha National VA Cemetery is open daily from sunrise to sunset, with office hours running from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Learn more online at cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/omaha.asp.

About the Author

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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