The following letter was posted to President Clinton on 1 Aug. 2000, asking that Fort Mc Clellan Millitary Cemetery be proclaimed a national monument. To do so would issure the preservation of this cemetery and the surrounding area given its historical significance, especially when viewed in the context of the combined sacrifice and duty to God and country made by those soldiers interred at this sight.

August 1, 2000 President William J. Clinton The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Clinton: Would you please issue a proclamation as per section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431) to declare the Fort Mc Clellan Military Cemetery and the surrounding area where my father, Leonard P. Lynch, is interred as a national monument. This land is of significant historic value on par with Arlington National Monument as a military cemetery given that soldiers and their immediate families have selected this as their final resting place since World War I. My father wished to be buried here, instead of Arlington, because he believed the area, being upon a military post, would forever remain a pristine final resting place. The cemetery has a unique quality, given its location, which makes it ever more comforting to the soul of bereaved loved ones who have occasion to visit the grave site. Because it is surrounded by natural forested areas, made ever more tranquill by the majestic foothills of the Appalachian Mountains which impart a glorious backdrop and halo in fall, seeming to bring new life to the area when the forest blossom in spring, the cemetery serves as the heart of a natural preserve. It would be a great loss to the area and to the nation not to preserve as much of this area as possible in its natural, undeveloped condition. This cemetery and the surrounding area may be at high risk of falling victim to the greed and plunder of developers who only wish to profit from the fact Fort Mc Clellan is being turned over to civilian control. To prevent the loss of this pristine sacred and hallowed grounds, it would be most appropriate to designate a large acreage of land a national monument, that it may be set aside as a historic area and military cemetery and/or park similar to Arlington National Monument. The surrounding foot hills, creeks and forests might be included in this designation owing to the fact they are of significance to preserve, are a natural wonder, and have value for endangered species such as the Gray Bat. The Department of the Army has failed to notify my mother, La Faye S. Lynch, regarding the disposition of Fort Mc Clellan Military Cemetery. I understand some 393 people in 355 graves (as of April 6, 2000) are interred at this cemetery. If my mother was not notified regarding redevelopment of this area, how many more family members has the Department of the Army failed to appropriately notify regarding the disposition of this property? Was this happenstance or done to prevent citizen action to have this area appropriately preserved? Whatever the reason for this neglect, you can best compensate for this by declaring the area a national monument. Even if one soldier or his wife is forgotten it is too much! How soon then will it be before we forget those brave soldiers who sacrificed so much for their country? To insure this never happens, and that their burial grounds are preserved, designation of this area as a national monument would be appropriate. This is especially true given the combined significance and sacrifice represented by the distinguished service records of those many soldiers so interred in these hallowed grounds. Perhaps excuses can be made for this neglect of duty to notify all family members with respect to this matter, but this is not how we should honor our soldier fathers. My father fought in World War II, in the Korean War and served his country with honor throughout the Cold War. He was a Nation Guard adviser during the Selma-to-Montgomery Civil Rights March and was on the telephone with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy directing efforts to secure the marchers and avoid bloodshed. He always treated his fellow soldiers without prejudice, regardless or race, and instilled this ideal in troops under his command. When he died in 1973 it was after doing very stressful duty during the Vietnam War where he had the hardship of informing wives and families their loved ones had been lost in battle. Do not we owe it to our soldier fathers to insure that their final resting places and the surrounding environment are appropriately honored and preserved? Is not it the responsibility of your office, as President and Commander-in-Chief, to take executive action to safe guard our honored dead, even after they have long departed this earth? By designating the Fort Mc Clellan Military Cemetery a national monument which would include a large allotment of the surrounding area, creeks, forests and lands, that said property would be preserved as a military cemetery like Arlington National Monument, you will be acting to insure our brave soldiers are forever honored and well remembered. Please reply and let me know when you will issue a proclamation to designate the hallowed ground where my father and many other soldiers are buried as a national monument. We can not forget our soldier fathers or their families. I believe no greater service to this nation can be done as president than to preserve those sacred lands our fathers fought and often died for, that we, their children, might have our lives graced with the freedom, liberty and wonderful nature of the land they sacrificed so much for to preserve. Respectfully yours, Terrence A. Lynch

Please write to the President and express your support for proclaiming Fort Mc Clellan Millitary Cemetery and the surrounding area a national monument and historic site. You may also use the White House Online Form to write the President.