Nicholson: We Are Proud to Partner with Montana
WASHINGTON – To ensure a special final resting place for Montana veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the award of a $4.1 million grant to establish the West Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Missoula.
“Veterans have earned the right to burial in cemeteries that commemorate their service to the nation,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. “We are proud to partner with the Montana Veterans’ Affairs Division to establish a third state cemetery in Montana.”
The grant will pay 100 percent of allowable costs to build the 23-acre cemetery in the western part of the state. In its initial 15-acre development, the cemetery will provide 962 full-casket gravesites, 1,906 in-ground cremation sites and 195 columbarium niches for cremation remains. More than 30,000 veterans and their family members live within the service area for this cemetery.
The grant also will cover the costs of cemetery infrastructure, including administration and maintenance buildings, roads, utilities, landscaping and irrigation, a public information center, a memorial walkway, an assembly area and a committal service shelter. Design costs and equipment to operate the cemetery are also funded.
Two other Montana state veterans cemeteries, in Helena and Miles City, also received federal assistance through VA’s State Cemetery Grants Program.
VA’s State Cemetery Grants Program is designed to complement VA’s 125 national cemeteries across the country. The grants help states establish state veterans cemeteries, and expand or improve existing state cemeteries.
To date, the VA program has helped establish 67 state veterans cemeteries in 36 states, Saipan and Guam, which provided more than 22,000 burials in 2006. Since the program began in 1980, VA has awarded 159 grants totaling $299 million.
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.
Information about Montana state veterans cemeteries can be obtained at
** http://dma.mt.gov/mvad/vasitemap.asp ** or by calling the Montana Veterans’ Affairs Division at (406) 324-3740.
** Indicates a link to a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
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