WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, the 119th Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery and the second in Ohio, will be officially dedicated Sunday, September 10, in a ceremony in Rittman, Ohio. The cemetery began burials on June 19.
“This new cemetery reflects the fulfillment of VA’s promise to our nation’s veterans to provide burial space for the men and women who served our country in time of need,” said Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Hershel Gober. “The veterans of Ohio have worked hard to make this national cemetery a reality. They now have a national shrine befitting the sacrifice and dedication of all American veterans.”
National, state and local officials, veterans service organizations, and area veterans and their families will attend the dedication ceremony. Keynoting the program will be Edward A. (Ned) Powell, Jr., Acting Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown, in whose district the cemetery is located, will be one of the featured speakers.
The $11 million national cemetery is located 45 miles south of Cleveland and 20 miles west of Akron in the northeastern part of the state. Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is designed to meet the burial needs of more than 500,000 veterans and family members who live within 75 miles of the cemetery. Previously, the nearest VA national cemetery was in Dayton in southwestern Ohio.
The national cemetery will provide 106,000 burial spaces once the 274-acre cemetery is fully developed. The 65-acre first phase project will contain approximately 15,900 casket gravesites and 3,000 columbaria and cremation gravesites. Upright granite headstones are placed on casket gravesites; flat granite markers are used with cremation sites.
The cemetery will also include a public information center, a gazebo with carillon, an administration and maintenance building, a flag and assembly area, two committal service shelters and a memorial walkway. AMVETS, the national veterans service organization, purchased the carillon.
VA awarded the cemeterys master planning contract to Behnke Associates, Inc., of Cleveland, and the construction contract to Welty Building Co. of Akron. Construction was completed on schedule.
Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery Director Jeffrey Teas is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who has been with VAs National Cemetery Administration for 15 years. The cemetery is located at 10175 Rawiga Rd. in Rittman, southeastern Medina County. The phone number is (330) 335-3069.
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.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices or by calling VA regional offices toll-free on 1-800-827-1000, or from VA web sites on the Internet at http://www.va.gov or http://www.cem.va.gov.
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