Decoration Removal Schedule

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**All Decorations Must Be Removed From Graves by 8:00 a.m. On The Dates Listed**

As of January 1, 2022, all decorations hanging on the mausoleum and columbarium or setting upon upright monuments and/or their bases and not on the lawn may be left in place by the cemetery staff.

Cemetery Staff retains the right to remove any/all decorations at their discretion.

  • 1st Monday in February
    02/05/2024

  • 2nd Monday following Easter
    4/08/2024

  • 1st Monday following Memorial Day
    6/03/2024

  • 1st Monday in October
    10/07/2024

  • Wrought iron basket hangers are not permitted except for the time period of December 15th through January 15th and one week prior to Memorial Day until the first Monday following Memorial Day.
  • Notices for our decoration removal schedule will be posted on signs at cemetery entrances the week preceding decoration removals. All decorations not collected by date and time listed will be disposed of with no exceptions.
  • For more information about the G.A.R. Cemetery decoration removal schedule, please call the cemetery at 918-541-2288.

Rules & Regulations

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Rules, Regulations, and Memorial Specifications adopted by the Board of Parks and Recreation of the City of Miami, Oklahoma, passed adopted by the Mayor and Board of City Commissioners, March 2, 1959. Revised October 26, 2004, approved by the Board of Parks and Recreation. Revised December 11, 2012, approved by the Board of Parks and Recreation. Revised December 2, 2014, approved by the Board of Parks and Recreation and Mayor and City Council. Revised January 16, 2018, approved by Mayor and City Council.

Water Hydrant Locations

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Water Hydrants throughout the grounds can be found by going to our list of tours and clicking on Water Hydrant Locations

Event Schedule

Each year on Memorial Day G.A.R. Cemetery holds their annual Memorial Day Ceremony.

This event is held to honor the fifteen Royal Air Force cadets that are interred in the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Cemetery who were killed in training accidents while attending Spartan School of Aeronautics, Miami B.F.T.S. #3 during WWII in the early 1940s.

During WWII, the community of Miami, Oklahoma welcomed over 2,100 British Cadets. Many families, invited the cadets to Sunday dinner and other family activities with them, resulting in lifelong friendships and some have continued to carry-on through the generations. These young men were far from their homelands where war was ravaging, and rations were a way of life. They were in a very different place than they were used to, and Miami won the young men’s hearts.

LAC Kenneth Frere stated the following in the September 1942 issue of the Spartan News: “… the first and most lasting impression we get is the real value of American hospitality. It seems that you can’t do enough for us – in everything we do there is someone to help us and make us feel at home.” “We enjoy all our time here and we thoroughly appreciate how helpful you all are to us – for the rest of our lives, Miami and No. 3 BFTS will be a bright spot in our memories. We’re glad it was Miami they chose for us.”

We here at G.A.R. Cemetery, strive to continue to keep this part of Miami’s history alive. By holding our annual British Flyers Remembrance Ceremony, we do that, as well as making sure that the lives lost by the 15 brave British Cadets that are interred here at G.A.R. Cemetery so far from their families and homelands, are never forgotten.

Lastly, We can’t speak of our Cadets without telling the story of Mrs. Frances Hill. Mrs. Hill devoted 40 years of her life to care for these 15 graves and received “The King’s Medal” for her unselfish actions. At her request, Mrs. Hill, along with her husband are laid to rest by her “British Boys”.

Each year we hold our annual Angel of Hope Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony on December 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the center of our Garden of Angels section by a very unique angel. One that there are less than 200 of them in the world.

The Christmas Box Angel statue was introduced to the world in the book The Christmas Box, a worldwide bestseller by author Richard Paul Evans. In the book, a woman mourns the loss of her child at the base of an angel monument. Though the story is mostly fiction, the angel monument once existed but is speculated to have been destroyed. The new angel statue was commissioned by Richard Paul Evans in response to reports that grieving parents were seeking out the angel as a place of healing. The Angel is made of bronze and stands 4′ 3″ tall and has a wingspan of 5′ 2″ and stands upon a 4′ solid granite base. If you look closely you can find on the angel’s right wing, the word “hope”.