BOUCHER ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR BUILDING SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA'S FIRST VETERANS CEMETERY

            Southwest Virginia does not currently have a veterans cemetery, but the need for one is great. A higher percentage of our population has served in the military than the national average. The nearest veterans cemetery to our region is in the Eastern part of Virginia. In order to honor properly the Southwest Virginians who have served our nation in uniform, I have made it a goal to build a veterans cemetery in the 9^th District.

Under long standing practice, the federal government finances the acquisition of the land and the construction of veterans cemeteries, and the states operate them once they are constructed. We are following that practice in the effort to build a 9^th District cemetery for veterans.

        In the Fall of 2006, we took the first step toward achieving our goal, when the U.S. Congress approved and the President signed into law legislation I authored directing the U.S. Army to convey nearly 80 acres of land it owns near the Town of Dublin in Pulaski County to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of establishing the region's first veterans cemetery.

        An environmental study of the land on which the cemetery will be built has been completed, and on September 22, 2008, I visited Dublin for the formal transfer of the deed to the cemetery property to the Commonwealth.  

            The master plans for the cemetery are currently being prepared, and I am seeking a federal grant to fund construction of the facility. I expect the grant to be awarded in December of this year. Construction of the cemetery will begin in early 2009, and the cemetery is scheduled to be formally opened with a commissioning ceremony by the end of that year.

            Veterans who have a desire to be buried in the cemetery may submit a pre-application for interment at the present time, which determines eligibility. Virginia residents who are members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Reserve or National Guard forces, who die on active duty, or who retire from military service or who are honorably discharged from military service are eligible for burial in the cemetery. Eligible veterans are entitled to a grave site without charge for interment. For a charge of $300 for each individual, the veteran's spouse and dependent children may also be interred.

        For further information or to obtain a pre-application for interment, please contact my Pulaski constituent service office at 540-980-4310.