SARASOTA — Memorial Day has been celebrated in America for nearly 160 years after the end of the Civil War drew countless communities to honor their fallen troops in the springtime.
Sarasota National Cemetery has continued that tradition, offering veterans an honorable final resting place and families a peaceful place to visit and remember their loved ones.
After the eighth Florida national cemetery began showing signs of filling up, the National Cemetery Association decided to buy a 295-acre parcel of land, formally known as Hawkins Ranch, off Clark Road in Sarasota.
Since then, the farmland has flourished into one the most well-kept, sought after national cemeteries in Florida, with many maintenance staff, administration and volunteers working together to meet the needs of those who sacrificed in the service of their country.
The grounds include a help center, multiple committal shelters where families gather for services, benches, reflection paths, reusable flower vases for in-ground burials, streets named after military branches and memorabilia architecture and artwork adorning sidewalks.
The cemetery also houses a 2,800-seat amphitheater, Patriot Plaza, donated by local nonprofit The Patterson Foundation, 10 years ago.
Patriot Plaza holds special ceremonies throughout the year, including Memorial Day events, Honor Guard appearances and "No Vet Forgotten," an event held every second Wednesday of the month to honor those buried at SNC without living family.
Placed in the center of the amphitheater is the American flag, flown half-staff every day of the year.
Cathi Carruthers, a SNC volunteer, said the flag's placement represents more than just the occasional death of a president or government official.
"It's at half staff every day during funerals, because we're showing respect of the veteran that is being buried," Carruthers said.
'As they come in the door'
No matter what rank, branch, religion or ethnic background, Carruthers said, all veterans are buried side by side.
"They are buried as they come in the door," she said. "So you can't come in here and say 'I want to be buried under that tree over there' because it doesn't work like that."
If eligible, veterans can choose to be buried there however they'd like, along with their spouse. Children can only be buried if they are deemed a dependent, and dogs, regardless service or not, cannot be buried with the veteran.
The cemetery has three kinds of burial options, including in-ground caskets, in-ground cremations and columbarium cremations — an outlet similar to the size and shape of a P.O. box — all of which offer same-day burial.
For the in-ground burials, Carruthers said interments are built from left to right, front to back in perfect alignment, down to the inch. Each are marked on the back with the section and row number for organizational purposes.
During the service at the cemetery, families are accompanied by a SNC representative and the Honor Guard who folds the flag, plays taps and gives the flag to the next of kin.
The ceremony ends promptly after 30 minutes, as Carruthers said time management remains tradition even after a death of a military member.
"This is the military, after all," Carruthers said. "The ground crew will say to the family 'Come back after three o'clock and then you can visit your loved one buried.'"
Sarasota National Cemetery houses veterans young and old, with some spanning lives decades before the cemetery's opening.
Joseph Newhall, born May 1898, was a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War I and moved to SNC after its opening in 2009.
Among the other notable burials include one other WWI Army private, one WWII Army private who lived to be 105 years old, an Army sergeant from the Korean War and a master gunnery sergeant from the Vietnam War.
Six troops killed in action are also laid to rest at Sarasota National Cemetery, spanning from the years 1950 to 2011.
The cemetery's youngest man buried is U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Nathaniel Schultz, was killed in action on Aug. 21, 2010 at the age of 19.
Volunteering at a cemetery
The cemetery has 30 volunteers who share shifts manning the desk, answering calls and guiding families through the process.
Marty Donner, a local resident who volunteers at the front desk, said he appreciates the consistency.
"It's part of my weekly routine and I enjoy it," Donner said. "Though I probably can't say I enjoy working in the cemetery."
Donner is a veteran after working as an engineering officer for the Navy Mayport base in Jacksonville. After his wife died and was buried at SNC in 2021, Donner decided to become a comfort for people who need help taking the next steps.
Donner is not the only volunteer to share that sentiment.
After Carruthers' veteran husband died in 2017, she chose to transform her pain into passion for helping others.
"You'll have a little little lady come in in tears and say 'I don't know what to do' but I've been through it," she said. "So come with me. Sit down. We're gonna walk you through it."
Driving up from Fort Myers every Tuesday, Carruthers volunteers for the afternoon shift, stays over at her daughter's house and volunteers Wednesday morning before driving back home.
While working at a cemetery brings questions for some, Carruthers said the outcome always outweighs the weirdness.
"At first, it's kind of strange, but now it's so rewarding," she said. "I've done other things but this is it. You really see it when you're helping people."
Running out of space soon
Since the cemetery first opened in 2009, already a third of the land has been filled, Carruthers said, with more than 32,000 gravesites built.
The number of soldiers buried each day is even more startling.
"We average about 10 a day, sometimes more," she said.
The rising numbers in burials can be drawn from the large population of retirees in Florida, a reason Carruthers said was why the NCA chose Sarasota as their next military cemetery spot.
"We also get cremation ashes from up north because they used to live here or they want to be buried here or the families here," she said.
The growing request to be buried at Sarasota National Cemetery, which comes at no cost to veterans or their families, inspired management to install an automatic gravesite locator kiosk.
Similar to an ATM, any visitor can punch in the name of a veteran buried on-site to find their section and grave number. Afterwards, a map of the cemetery with the burial site highlighted is printed from the kiosk.
Carruthers said the invention has helped people locate their loved one amid the thousands of graves and the continuous expansion happening at the cemetery.
"Sometimes these sections don't look like they did when you buried dad here, and after being up north for two years, you come back to say 'what the heck'" Carruthers said.
To combat the lack of space, officials said Sarasota National Cemetery is in Phase 2 of their expansion, with gravesite construction already under way. Carruthers said the space is expected to house an additional 31,000 gravesites.
"When we run out of space, we will try to buy more around us," Carruthers said. "Why here? The VA looks at areas that has the most veterans they know."
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