Ground Broken for New Shrine Honoring America’s Veterans
WASHINGTON – Ground was broken today in Sarasota, Fla., in a ceremony dedicating the new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery.
“Serving veterans where they live is a top priority for VA,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “By building a national shrine in this part of Florida, we will provide a final resting place and lasting tribute to the men and women who have faithfully served our nation.”
The ceremony included remarks by VA’s Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs William F. Tuerk and local officials. The dedication plaque was unveiled and military honors were performed by a joint service firing detail. The ceremony ended with the playing of “Taps.”
Located on a 295-acre site in Sarasota County along State Route 72, the new cemetery will begin burials late this year. It will be available for nearly 400,000 veterans and their family members who live in southwestern Florida.
VA selected Sandra M. Beckley as the cemetery’s first director. Most recently, she served as director at VA’s Georgia National Cemetery near Atlanta.
VA will begin construction this summer on a 15-acre section. The section will be comprised of 2,000 pre-placed concrete vaults and 2,000 sites for in-ground cremated remains. The cemetery staff will work initially from a temporary office, a committal service shelter and an equipment facility until construction is completed.
The cemetery’s remaining 60-acre 10-year construction plan will contain 18,200 casket gravesites, including 15,200 pre-placed concrete vaults; a 7,000-unit columbarium for cremation remains; 7,500 graves for in-ground cremated remains; and a scattering garden.
When completed, the new cemetery will include an administration and public information complex with an electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms; a maintenance facility; entrance and flag assembly areas; a memorial walkway; and two committal shelters. Other infrastructure elements include roadways, landscaping, utilities and irrigation.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses, and eligible dependent children can 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 nearly 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 Sarasota VA National Cemetery, call the cemetery office at (941) 861-9840 or, toll-free, at (877) 861-9840. To make burial arrangements at the time of need, call the national cemetery scheduling office at (800) 535-1117.
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
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