VA Upholds Sacred Commitment to Honor America’s Veterans
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today dedicated its newest national cemetery in Jacksonville, Fla. The cemetery, currently being constructed, is expected to begin burials in January 2009.
“A new national shrine to the veterans of Florida moves forward today with the dedication of this cemetery site,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “VA holds sacred our commitment to veterans by providing a beautiful final resting place and lasting tribute to the men and women who kept their commitment to protect and defend our nation.”
VA’s Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs William F. Tuerk, who gave the keynote address, was joined by local officials in unveiling the dedication plaque. Military honors were rendered and the ceremony ended with the playing of “Taps.”
The 526-acre national cemetery will serve veterans’ needs into the next century. The cemetery is located north of the Jacksonville International Airport and approximately five miles from Interstate 295 along Lannie Road.
The initial phase of construction will consist of a 20-acre burial area with temporary facilities. When the second stage of construction is completed, the 52-acre development will provide 8,145 full-casket gravesites, including 7,300 pre-placed crypts, 5,100 in-ground cremation sites and 4,992 columbarium niches for cremated remains. Second-stage construction will also include roadways, an administration and public information center, a maintenance complex, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway, committal service shelters and more interment areas. Other infrastructure improvements will include grading, drainage, fencing, landscaping, an irrigation system and utilities.
Veterans with a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children may be buried in a national cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker.
In the midst of the largest expansion since the Civil War, VA operates 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites. More than three million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 17,000 acres of land.
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 (800) 827-1000. For information on the Jacksonville National Cemetery, call the cemetery office at (904) 358-3510. To make burial arrangements at the time of need, call the national cemetery scheduling office at (800) 535-1117.
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