Veteran's Park

There is a park on the North side of the Cemetery that is designated for veterans of World War 2 who were killed overseas and their bodies were not returned to the United States. There are markers here but no burials. These men have a flag placed on their grave and some have family or friends that maintain floral plantings for them.

The Cemetery has landscaped and installed irrigation in the park. There is a monument describing the purpose of the park and a bench for visitors to sit on while they think of the sacrifice of these individuals and their families.

Cannon Park

This park is to commemorate veterans of the Civil War.  The United States Government gave the cannon to the Lombard Post #170 of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) on November 10, 1897 and the Lombard Post in turn donated it to the Cemetery.  The cannon is a 30-pounder Parrott Rifle.  These cannons were donated accross the country to serve as "silent sentinals" in tribute to the memory of all who served and sacrificed during the American Civil War.  I can remember in the 1950's when the Petoskey's Memorial Day parade used to come through town, up the Cemetery hill, into the Cemetery and have a service at the Cannon Park.  It was quite a walk from the downtown to the Cemetery (and back) but WW-2 had not been over very long and the country would have been involved in the Korean Conflict about that time.  As a young boy I didn't grasp the sense of patriotism but two of my great-grandfathers fought in the Civil War and I have a greater sense of wonder now as I think of what they and so many others must have gone through.

Veterans

There are 1,200+ veterans who will have a United States flag placed on their grave every year from Memorial Day until after Labor Day. The breakdown of veterans by war is as follows:

• Mexican American - 3
• Civil War - 191
• Spanish American War - 23
• World War 1 - 284
• World War 2 - 552
• Korea - 122
• Vietnam - 46
• Persian Gulf - 1
• Desert Storm - 1 
• Iraqi Freedom - 1
• Peacetime Veteran - 69
• Total Veterans - 1,296

There are hundreds more peacetime veterans but the families have chosen not to designate them as such.