Catholic laity, clergy and religious joined Gov. Andy Beshear and other dignitaries to honor more than 500 veterans, including 16 African American men, buried in St. Louis Cemetery on Baxter Avenue Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
The 16 African American veterans are buried in unmarked graves in a formerly segregated part of the cemetery, said Deacon Ned Berghausen, who organized the event. They are among more than 1,630 Black Catholics who were buried in the cemetery between 1867 and 1937, mostly in unmarked graves.
During the event, Deacon Berghausen said, “Our American military reminds us that at crucial moments in our history, freedom has also required a willingness to fight and if necessary to die. Today we honor all living veterans.”
He invited all veterans at the event to stand as those gathered responded with a round of applause.
Gov. Beshear also addressed the gathering, saying the event served to spotlight the Commonwealth’s “many proud Black military veterans.”
“The 16 soldiers being honored today represent Black Kentuckians who fought in defense of all our rights in the Civil War, as Buffalo Soldiers during the segregation era and in World War I,” said the governor. “This honor and recognition is long overdue and sadly it’s a familiar story.
The heroism, service and accomplishment of our Black citizens have too often been ignored, forgotten and sometimes even denied.
“We honor those who fought on our behalf and in our defense, we thank those who sacrificed their time, their health and even their lives and we pray for those who continue to serve,” said Gov. Beshear. “Our military veterans are the best among us and I hope that we, as Kentuckians, can commit to doing the hard work of being worthy of their sacrifices.”
The names of the 16 Black veterans were read aloud during the event.
Deacon Berghausen leads a project to locate unmarked graves and uncover the identities of those buried in St. Louis Cemetery. His partners in the project include the Sister Thea Bowman Society and the Unmarked Graves Project.
Work recently began in the cemetery to locate all the gravesites using ground-penetrating radar technology, said Deacon Berghausen, who serves at St. Agnes Church.
