Washington, D.C. — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a $9.2 million contract to LOR Construction of Mesa, Ariz., to expand the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona (NMCA) near Phoenix.
Alma B. Moore, Acting Director of VA’s National Cemetery System, said, “Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to, and respect for, veterans who served this country in time of need.
This expansion project represents the nation’s continuing commitment to ensuring burial benefits for veterans and to maintaining the integrity of this important national shrine.”
Moore said the expansion will provide burial space for veterans and their eligible family members in the Phoenix area well into the next century.
The expansion project calls for the development of 118 acres for future burials at the 225-acre facility. The new project will develop approximately 14,000 full casketed grave sites, 7,000 in-ground cremation sites, and 10,000 columbarium niches. The project will also include construction of an assembly area, new entry and gate feature, a founders’ plaza, a public information center, three new committal service shelters, a new maintenance building, expansion of the existing road system and storm drainage improvements.
National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, originally a state veterans cemetery called the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, was transferred to VA in 1988 and designated as the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. Some 24,000 veterans and dependents are buried at the cemetery. Interments in FY 1997 exceeded 2,000.
Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. VA also provides grave markers or headstones for the unmarked graves of eligible veterans even if they are not buried in a national cemetery. VA does not reserve space in national cemeteries prior to the time of need. Information on VA burial benefits is available from national cemetery offices and VA regional offices.
For more information, call 1-800-827-1000, or visit the VA Homepage on the World Wide Web at http://www.va.gov or the National Cemetery System Homepage at http://www.cem.va.gov.
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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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