Aug. 29, 1967: The day the Nazis came to Culpeper National Cemetery
Published: August 27, 2009
Updated: August 27, 2009
This Saturday marks the 42nd anniversary of what was perhaps the biggest Culpeper news story of the past century.
It was set in motion days before when American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell was assassinated by another Nazi in an Arlington parking lot.
Rockwell was a retired Navy flyer, serving in World War II and Korea, making him eligible to be buried in a national cemetery. His supporters chose Culpeper National Cemetery. Initial approval was granted.
A grave was dug and a tent erected for the mourners. The arrangements called for a special group of uniformed Nazi stormtroopers to serve as pall bearers and standard bearers while the U.S. Navy would furnish an honor guard.
The Star-Exponent reported that Roy Legge (no relation), commander of the Culpeper American Legion Post 330, didn’t like the idea. “We are violently opposed to a Rockwell burial in a national cemetery,” he said.
Probably due to those and other complaints, the night before the burial the Pentagon announced there would be no special ceremonies, although the burial would be allowed to proceed.
The next morning, the hearse bearing the body left Arlington. The funeral home had to ask five chauffeurs before finding one who would drive to Culpeper. The hearse was halted just short of the gate, narrowly being missed by a passing freight train. Within minutes, mourners, reporters, cameramen and curiosity seekers flooded the area.
Soon, four military helicopters arrived with 60 MPs and Major Gen. Carl Turner, who told the funeral party that no one with Nazi uniforms, flags or armbands would be allowed in. They were joined by dozens of local police. The Nazis refused to comply.
Then the standoff began, punctuated by several attempts to cross the line of MPs. The chauffeur was not a Nazi and in no hurry to move forward toward the general and MPs.
At one point, the wife of one of the top Nazis told the general, “If I were driving that hearse, you’d be pretty flat by now.” The general just puffed on his cigar. By this time, about 1,000 people jammed the area.
By 3:30 p.m., the general gave the Nazis 15 minutes to comply with the no-armbands regulation. They refused and drove back to Arlington, where Rockwell was cremated.
The following day the story was front page news nationwide. The entire front page of the Star-Exponent was devoted to it.
***
Given that Rockwell’s Nazi Party never had more than 200 members, he received an inordinate amount of attention. He even garnered more than 1 percent of the vote in his run for Virginia governor in 1965.
While the American Nazi Party is barely more than a Web site today, Rockwell is still revered as a martyr by a small group of anti-Semitics and white supremacists. But his influence lived on after his death. One of Rockwell’s close associates, William Pierce, wrote a book called “The Turner Diaries” that portrayed the violent overthrow of the federal government and the systematic killing of Jews and non-whites in order to establish an “Aryan” world.
Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was an enthusiastic promoter of the book. There are remarkable similarities between the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building and a scene in The Turner Diaries that graphically describes the preparation of a bomb used to destroy the national headquarters of the FBI.
Rockwell talked in private about a “strategic infiltration” of marginal Christian sects in order to provide a popular cover for his movement and a mechanism for popularizing his racist views.
Fortunately that tactic never worked well for him.
While Rockwell alone didn’t introduce the notion of Holocaust denial, he popularized it and pioneered its use as a political strategy.
****
Thankfully after the “attempted burial,” the Culpeper National Cemetery quickly returned to the peaceful place it still is today.
I’m glad Mr. Rockwell is not buried there.
Legge’s column runs every other Thursday on the editorial page.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Thank you for that “memory”! I was not in the area at the time, and not old enough to really understand. Very interesting article.
Thanks roger for that first hand account.
I remember it very well. I was not at the cemetary but I was in the old Culpeper Pharmacy building on S. Main St watching through the plate glass windows…The parts of Main St. that i could see were completely deserted but you could see people in every window and door. Nobody really knew what to expect. The funeral peocession came into view with hearse leading and the followers in trucks and on motorcycles…They were very noisy and were making obscene gestures. That night I saw the newscast of the coverage at the cemetery. It was really something to see. They made quite a show before they gave up and left. But Rockwell’s was not the only funeral that caused a stir at the Culpeper National Cemetery..“Little Jesus”, the leader of the Pagans, a motorcycle gang from northern Virgina is buried there. I don’t believe he was turned away and is there. Now that was really a show. Must have been close to 50 or more motor cycles with riders in leathers and German helmets. I was told (and I have no reason not to believe it) that his girlfriend jumped into the grave and had to be pulled out. I was not at the cemetery but I know some who were and this is what I was told.I was again at the Culpeper Pharmacy Building, as I worked in an office at the rear of the drug store..Great vantage point.
What “bomb experts”? Debunked what?
Bomb experts have debunked the whole McVeigh / OKC thing. That was a stated event to demonize militias. Poor journalism.
I’d really like to hear some more first hand accounts if you don’t mind. Were you at the cemetery that day.
My father lived for a time almost across the street from their Arlington headquarters. They had a big swastika above the door and a stormtrooper standing guard outside. Don’t see that kind of thing too often.
I remember it well. You wouldn’t believe the rumors flying around town at the time. At one point we were told the National Guard was on its way to Culpeper to restore order.
Advertisement