Fort Douglas Cemetery was established in December 1862 under the direction of commanding officer Colonel Patrick Edward Connor. On 25 February 1863, the first funeral services were held for soldiers who fell during the battle of Bear River. James Duane Doty, Utah Territorial Governor from 1863 to 1865, was buried on 15 June 1865. General Connor, the first commander of Fort Douglas, was laid to rest on 21 December 1891. Officers and men who died in the service of their country are buried there, representing the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War 2, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict. Also interred are 21 German prisoners of war from World War I, and 20 German, 12 Italian, and 1 Japanese prisoners of war from World War 2. It is presented as sacred and hallowed ground and as a place of sacrifice, suffering, and remembrance for the dead who have seen the end of war.