On Memorial Day, take a journey of life through death at Roselawn Cemetery
Upon entering the grounds of Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo, one is ushered into a hushed, silent reverence. Acre upon acre of gravesites, the resting places of 66,000 souls, give testimony to lives, families, stories, memories and loves.
Pushing further into the cemetery complex, you will discover the unmarked, mass graves of some 1100 victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and hundreds more from the 1906 Eden Train Wreck and the 1921 Pueblo flood. In passing through the cemetery, you will discover the signs and symbols of the diverse cultures and traditions that comprise our community.
Roselawn is a journey of life through death, a holy ground of reverence and awe.
Some 2,000 burial plots are set aside in a section for military veterans who served their country. Pueblo is known as the Home of Heroes, for the four service members born in Pueblo, memorialized at the Convention Center, who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. They are interred in military cemeteries across the United States.
Much less known is a fifth Congressional Medal of Honor recipient interred at Roselawn. A native of Texas, Warren Dockam was the eighth recipient of the newly constituted Medal of Honor, posthumously awarded to him by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
In front of the path leading to the Bishop’s Section of Roselawn lies the gravesite of Monsignor Hugh O’Neill, chaplain to the Third U.S. Army, memorialized by the weather prayer he wrote for Gen. George Patton as unusually wet weather in the fall of 1944 bogged down Allied forces.
"Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend," the prayer begins.
Patton is said to have liked the prayer and ordered 250,000 copies to be printed on prayer cards to distribute to the entire Third Army, according to the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Chaplain. The Allies went on to win the decisive Battle of the Bulge in the Belgian Ardennes forest, and pushed into Germany. In late January, 19454, Patton reportedly cracked O’Neill on the side of his helmet with a riding crop and said to him, “Well, Padre, our prayers worked. I knew they would.”
Awarded the bronze star and other medals for service in Normandy, France, Germany and Central Europe, Monsignor/Brig. Gen. O’Neill quietly finished his days of priestly ministry at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pueblo.
So many heroes lie quietly in state at Roselawn, including the “wagon train” sisters who founded St. Mary-Corwin Hospital.
At the end of May, when the flowers are blooming, we bring bouquets and our hearts to honor those who have laid down their lives in service to our country. We decorate their graves with flags, we remember their example, and we pray.
On Memorial Day we will celebrate the traditional outdoor Mass at the cemetery, in the Bishop’s Section at 10 a.m. We will pray and then bless the graves of the men and women who served our country in the military, and also the graves of religious priests and sisters, who served their country by serving God. You are most welcome to join us.
Pueblo County is home to 14,000 veterans, or 11% of the population. The Veterans Administration advocates for veterans, in finding education, employment placement, transitional shelter and financial assistance, and working with homeless veterans. To volunteer, contact Eva at 720-723-3864 or email Vhaechvolsvcs@va.gov.
Additionally, the Mount Carmel Veterans Center of El Paso County has just opened a center in Pueblo. Their impressive record of service to some 12,000 veterans, through 88,000 visits, is now being extended into our community. They offer transitional and employment support, and programs of behavioral health and wellness. Call 719-772-7000 or email info@mtcarmelcenter.org to donate or volunteer.
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” With these words of Jesus, let us always remember those who have given their lives in service to our families, our faith and our country. In gratitude for their sacrifice, and holding dear the freedoms which define us, may we also embrace their example of service to others, our country, and to our loving God.
The Most Reverend Stephen J. Berg is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo.