NATIONAL CEMETERY AT FORT LOGAN, COLO. JUNE 29, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. ASPINALL, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT (To accompany H. R. 4548 The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4548) to provide for the utilization as a national cemetery of surplus Army Department owned military real property at Fort Logan, Colo., having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of the Army to utilize federally owned surplus land at Fort Logan, Colo., for the establishment of a national cemetery. The Department of the Army has made a study to determine the localities which present the most pressing immediate demands for the establishment of national cemeteries. According to this survey, the central Rocky Mountain area is one of the localities in which a national cemetery is most urgently needed. Fort Logan, near Denver, Colo., is the site recommended by the Army for the location of a national cemetery to serve the central Rocky Mountain area. At present, the nearest national cemetery to the Denver area is Fort McPherson, Nebr. As a result, Colorado veterans and the families of the State's war dead have been deprived of national cemetery facilities for all practical purposes. The next of kin, naturally, do not wish to bury the bodies of these war veterans far from their homes, where it would be difficult or impossible to visit the graves regularly H. R. 4548 w uld establish no new principle. It merely would extend a service granted under existing law to veterans and their families who have virtually been denied burial in a national cemetery because of their geographical location. Fort Logan is a fitting site for the establishment of a national cemetery to serve the surrounding area, both because of its history and its location. One of the oldest and most historic military installations in the Rocky Mountain area, Fort Logan, is situated on 973.8 acres of land which were donated by Colorado citizens and accepted by the Government in February 1887. The post later was named Fort Logan in honor of John Alexander Logan, major general of volunteers. Fort Logan was a cavalry and infantry post until 1927, when it was taken over by the Second Engineers. It was made an Air Forces installation in 1941, and was an induction and training center during World War II. It was declared surplus by the War Department in July 1946 at which time 579.94 acres and 218 buildings were turned over to the Veterans' Administration for use as a veterans' hospital. The Veterans' Administration recently has announced plans to use its facilities at Fort Logan as a permanent veterans' rehabilitation center. The Denver area is becoming a nationally important medical center for servicemen and veterans. Fitzsimons General Hospital, one of the largest permanent general Army hospitals in the Nation, is located near Denver. A 500-bed veterans' hospital is being constructed in Denver, and the present veterans' hospital at Fort Logan has a 300-bed capacity. Veterans and servicemen from a wide area, as well as their families, come to Denver to utilize these facilities. In view of these developments, it is especially important that national cemetery facilities be established in the area. All major veterans' organizations have repeatedly urged that additional national cemeteries be created. This bill is in line with resolutions adopted by the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans. Local units of these organizations in the area surrounding the proposed cemetery have endorsed the proposal for its establishment. Other organizations which have endorsed the establishment of a national cemetery at Fort Logan include the Thirty-fourth Sandstorm Division of the Regular Veterans Association, the Colorado and Denver Chapters of the Gold Star Mothers of America, the Denver Chapter of the American War Dads, the Denver Chamber of Commerce, the West Side Women's Club, and the Colorado State Department of Veterans Affairs. Hearings on H. R. 4722, Eightieth Congress, were held before the Committee on Public Lands last year, at which it was testified that the reservation at Fort Logan includes surplus lands which can be made available for cemetery purposes. The committee has been advised that, in its plans to convert the facilities at Fort Logan as a permanent veterans' rehabilitation center, it would be necessary to abandon the Fort Logan Cemetery and reinter the bodies heretofore buried in the post cemetery. The Department of the Army has estimated that the initial cost of making available a national cemetery at Fort Logan is approximately $270,000. A favorable report on H. R. 4548 by the Secretary of the Army is hereinbelow set forth and is made a part of this report. Hon. J. HARDIN PETERSON, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. PETERSON: Reference is made to your request to the Secretary of Defense for the views of the National Military Establishment with respect to H. R. 4548, Eighty-first Congress, a bill to provide for the utilization as a national cemetery of surplus Army Department owned military real property at Fort Logan, Colo. The Secretary of Defense has delegated to this Department the responsibility for expressing the views of the National Military Establishment. The Department of the Army favors the above-mentioned bill. The purpose of the bill is to authorize the Secretary of the Army to utilize such of the federally owned lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army at Fort Logan, Colo., as are not needed for military purposes for the establishment thereon of a national cemetery when he determines there is need for an additional cemetery or cemeteries for the burial of members of the armed forces of the United States dying in the service or former members whose last discharge therefrom was honorable. There is no national cemetery in the State of Colorado. A national cemetery at Fort Logan would serve a population of 760,000 located within a 100-mile radius of Denver. Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Lincoln County, Nebr., the nearest national cemetery, is over 100 miles distant from the Denver area which is the center of population density of the State of Colorado. This Department has made a survey of the property at Fort Logan and considers it suitable for national cemetery purposes. Recommendations for the establishment of national cemetery facilities in this area were previously made to the Congress as reflected by reports rendered by this Department in connection with H. R. 4722 and S. 272, both of which were introduced in the Eightieth Congress. In view of the above, it is recommended that H. R. 4548 be enacted into law. The initial cost for development of 10 acres to meet anticipated requirements for the first 5 years will be $270,000. The ultimate total cost for development of a 140-acre tract will be approximately $1,200,000. This report has been coordinated among the departments and boards in the National Military Establishment in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours. GORDON GRAY, Secretary of the Ármy. Enactment of this legislation is unanimously recommended by the Committee on Public Lands. О |