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FAIRFIELD, Utah County — Camp Floyd State Park manager, Mark Trotter, brings the park's cemetery to life for visitors through passion and costume.
"It's exciting,” said Trotter. “The first question I get from people is ‘is that sword real?’ Every time,” said Trotter with laugh.
Trotter ’s been at the park for 14 ½ years and still gets excited whenever someone wants to talk to him about the place.
"Most people don't even realize we had nearly a third of the United States Army here in 1858," said Trotter.
The soldiers were sent to the Utah Territory by President James Buchanan to stop a perceived Mormon rebellion. The soldiers stayed for three years, then they returned back east because of the start of the Civil War.
Trotter's office, where the camp commissary was, is the only original building still standing.
That’s a big reason why Trotter likes to dress up, especially for school field trips.
"We want it to come alive for them (the students). We want them to experience it rather than just view it,” said Trotter.
The cemetery, is one of the most lively and interesting places to visit according to Trotter.
There are at least 35 soldiers buried in the cemetery, which is surrounded by a back iron fence.
However, there is something unique about this cemetery — every single headstone is white, and each one is marked “unknown.”
There are a lot of people who say 'who cares about the history?' but really, that's who we are. History defines who we are, and if we forget that, then we're kind of rudderless through an ocean.
–Mark Trotter
A couple of years ago, there were headstones in the ground with the name of a soldier on each one, including where they were from and when they died. But after using ground penetrating radar, park workers found out there were bodies scattered throughout the cemetery and not necessarily under the headstones.
"We had to get rid of the old headstones that were incorrect,” said Trotter.
Part of the problem is workers know where bodies are buried — they even know the names of the soldiers buried here — but they just don’t know who each body is.
Workers decided to mark where the actual bodies are with unknown headstones. The names of those buried here are on a sign as you enter the cemetery.
Of course, the big question is, could the remains of soldiers be identified?
Trotter isn’t sure, saying he doesn't know if there are enough remains left of each soldier to positively identify them.
That’s why he felt having “unknown” marked on headstones was more accurate, instead of headstones with names of soldiers placed where there were no bodies.
"There are a lot of people who say 'who cares about the history?’ but really, that's who we are. History defines who we are, and if we forget that, then we're kind of rudderless through an ocean,” said Trotter.
