White Chapel Memorial Cemetery or simply White Chapel Cemetery is a memorial cemetery in Troy, Oakland County, Michigan.Polar Bear MemorialThe state of Michigan dedicated a memorial on May 30, 1930, honoring the U.S. Army's Polar Bear Expedition. It recognizes the efforts of the expeditionary force against the Bolshevik Red Army in North Russia during 1918 and 1919.DiscriminationOn August 10, 1960, an honorably discharged 66-year-old World War I veteran, George Vincent Nash, was removed from resting alongside his Caucasian wife at the White Chapel Cemetery.The action took place immediately following the graveside service because Nash was a full-blooded Ho-Chunk (also known as Winnebago) or Native American. The explanation was that 40,000 plot owners "had paid for the restriction" for the type of people that could be buried at White Chapel Cemetery. According to the cemetery's officials, corpses had to be at least 75% Caucasian to be buried at White Chapel. The governor, G. Mennen Williams, was concerned about the legality of the cemetery's actions. However, the Michigan state legislatures in both 1961 and 1962, failed to pass bills that would have prohibited cemeteries to discriminate who could be interred in them on the basis of race.
