WASHINGTON — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi has awarded $6.1 million to New Jersey for the improvement of the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
“Since its opening in 1986, this cemetery has become the busiest state veterans’ cemetery in the nation,” said Principi. “This grant will ensure the cemetery continues to meet the needs of veterans and their families well into the future.”
Brigadier General Doyle cemetery, in central New Jersey near the capital of Trenton, provided 2,669 interments in the state’s fiscal year 2004 that ended July 30. The cemetery is available to New Jersey’s approximately 592,000 veterans and their dependents.
Plans call for construction of a new administration and maintenance building. With the cemetery conducting twice as many burials a day as it was designed to accommodate, the new facility will help to increase its capacity to meet the need for burial services.
As a complement to VA’s system of national cemeteries, the State Cemetery Grants Program has helped establish, expand or improve 56 operational state veterans cemeteries. States are responsible for operating their veterans’ cemeteries after VA assists with construction. State veterans cemeteries provided more than 19,000 burials in fiscal year 2004. Since the program began in 1980, VA has awarded 138 grants for more than $215 million to 30 states and Guam.
Information about the grants program is available by contacting VA’s State Cemetery Grants Service at (202) 565-6801.
Eligibility for burial in the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery is based on the same criteria as burial in a VA national cemetery. The veteran or service member must also have established legal residence in New Jersey prior to death or have been a legal resident of the state for at least 50 percent of his or her lifetime. More information about the cemetery is available at (609) 758-7250.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov/, or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.
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