STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RICK BOUCHER

On The Schedule For Building and Opening

Southwest Virginia's First Veterans Cemetery

Monday, February 11, 2008

Dublin Town Hall

        I am pleased to be with you this morning to report on the progress of the development of Southwest Virginia's first veterans' cemetery which will be located adjacent to the Town of Dublin.

        Southwest Virginia has never had a veterans' cemetery. The nearest one to our region is located in Amelia County, in the eastern part of Virginia. Therefore, for all practical purposes, Southwest Virginia veterans do not have access to a veterans cemetery to use as a final resting place.

            I have made it a goal to build a veterans cemetery in our region, and in the Fall of 2006 we took the first step toward achieving that goal, when at my urging, the U. S. Congress passed legislation which the President signed, directing the U. S. Army to convey 79.8 acres of land it owns adjacent to the Town of Dublin to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of establishing the region's first veterans' cemetery.

            Under long standing practice, the federal government finances the construction of veterans' cemeteries, and the states operate them. Following that practice, we are looking to the federal government to provide the land and then provide a grant for the purpose of constructing the facility. I'll offer an update both on the land transfer progress and on our efforts to obtain the federal construction grant.           

        Two items must be addressed prior to the conveyance of the land from the U. S. Army to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.  First, a perimeter security fence which currently encompasses the property must be moved within the Army's new boundaries.  A Request for Bids has been issued for the construction of a new fence.  Those bids which are due on February 26 will be opened on February 27. A contract will be entered into in March , and construction of this element is anticipated to begin on April 1 and should be completed during June of this year.

        Second, because the property which will become the cemetery site is part of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, an environmental review is required and is now underway to ensure that the land is free of all contaminants.  We anticipate no problems with the environmental review , and it is anticipated that the environmental review process will be completed and the deed readied for transfer this summer.  I look forward to returning to Dublin at that time for a formal Deed Transfer ceremony.

        Concurrently, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services has contracted with an Architectural and Engineering firm which is now developing several alternative master plans for the arrangement and layout of the cemetery.  By late March, approximately three draft master plans will be submitted by the Architectural and Engineering firm to the Department of Veterans Services for consideration.  The Virginia Department of Veterans Services in consultation with the National Cemetery Administration of the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs will select the final cemetery master plan during the early summer.

        The Virginia General Assembly has approved the expenditure of up to $11 million for the construction of the cemetery.  The state funds will be reimbursed by the federal grant I previously mentioned, which is called a U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Cemetery Grant.  The Virginia Department of Veterans Services has already submitted an application to the National Cemetery Administration of the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  We anticipate the award of the grant in December 2008.  I am not aware of any obstacles to the award of the grant, and I am urging its rapid approval by the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs.

        Construction of the cemetery is scheduled to begin in early 2009, and the cemetery will be formally opened with a commissioning ceremony by  Memorial Day 2010.

        Veterans who have a desire to be buried in the cemetery are encouraged to submit a pre-application for interment which determines a veteran's eligibility to be interred at the cemetery.  Virginia residents who are members of the U. S. Armed Forces and who die on active duty, who retire from military service or who are honorably discharged from military service are eligible for burial in the cemetery.  In addition, the legal spouse and any dependent children may also be interred.  Other U. S. military service members and civilians may be eligible.  These individuals include members of the military reserves, Army National Guard or Air National Guard, members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, U. S. citizens who served in the armed forces of any government allied with the United States during wartime, Commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commissioned officers of the regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service, and American merchant seamen. Copies of the pre-application are available at my Constituent Service Office in Pulaski.

          Eligible veterans are entitled to a grave site without charge for the internment of the veteran. For a charge of $300 for each individual, the veteran's spouse and dependent children may also be interred.

              The cemetery will provide for the opening and closing of the grave, a marker with inscription, perpetual care of the site, and use of the committal shelter to conduct the funeral service.  The veteran or his or her estate is responsible for the purchase of a casket and vault or urns for inurnment, and the other associated funeral costs. 

        Should a veteran desiring internment in the cemetery die prior to the opening of the cemetary, family members are encouraged to have the remains cremated so that internment may occur once the Cemetery opens. 

          The interment at a designated veterans cemetery can provide a veteran's family with a considerable cost savings while at the same time ensuring that the veteran receives proper recognition for his or her service to our country.

          I would like to take the opportunity of these remarks to recognize several individuals who are working diligently for the construction and opening of the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery.

          Dan Kemano, Cemeteries Administrator for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, is spending countless hours to ensure the timely processing of the environmental review and grant application. 

          Len DiIoia, Facility and Environmental Engineer for the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, is working closely with Dan to facilitate the transfer of the cemetery property.

          Dallas Cox, member of the Dublin Town Council, and Benny Hill, a member of the local VFW, are providing valuable advice for the ceremonies that will mark the deed transfer, groundbreaking and commissioning of the cemetery, and Laura Lee, my Deputy Chief of Staff, has worked tirelessly to advance the project and coordinate all of the various activities that we have underway simultaneously.

          Our veterans who have given of themselves in order to protect the freedoms we hold dear are deserving of an honored site for their final resting place.   I am pleased that the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery will be such a site.