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ask.heather@mail.house.gov
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In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax |
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax |  |
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Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| Wilson Announces Possible Vet Cem Sites |
May 26, 2003 |
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Wilson Secured Funding for Preliminary Site Selection
Albuquerque, NM – Congresswoman Heather Wilson joined hundreds of area veterans today to honor our nation’s veterans. In a brief informational talk, just after the ceremony and a ribbon-cutting for the remodeled Veterans Memorial Park, Wilson outlined for New Mexicans three locations that a VA site selection committee says are possible sites for a National Cemetery in the Albuquerque area. Wilson says she’s looking for input from veterans on the three potential locations.
“One of the promises this country made to those who have served is that they would have the right to be with their comrades when they died,” said Wilson. “A new cemetery will ensure that we continue to honor that promise to New Mexico’s veterans. The hundreds of veterans I’ve visited with in Albuquerque, and their families, want to know that their sacrifices will be remembered and honored. They deserve this final measure of respect.”
Staff from the VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA) traveled to New Mexico late last year to conduct an initial review of possible sites for a national cemetery to serve the Albuquerque area when the national cemetery in Santa Fe is closed to new interments later this decade. Wilson secured funding to survey possible sites, with an eye towards the long-term needs of veterans in New Mexico.
Possibilities were narrowed by the VA to three likely sites:
·Kirtland AFB—Robotics Area, 142 acres
·Los Lunas—I-25 East Side—Mile Marker 202, 140 acres
·Central and Paseo del Volcan SW—400 acres
Wilson also welcomed feedback from veteran families in New Mexico on the three proposed sites.
“I want to hear what people think about each of the locations that the VA identified as possibilities for a new National Cemetery in central Albuquerque,” said Wilson.
The lawmaker said people could call her Albuquerque office at 505-346-6781, or drop her a note at 20 First Plaza NW, Suite 603, 87102, to register their thoughts on the three locations. Veterans can also e-mail their feed back to ask.heather@mail.house.gov by writing “Vets Cem” in the subject line.
Wilson has sought to establish a new veterans cemetery in New Mexico since she was elected. Veterans groups have long pushed for a national cemetery in central New Mexico with the knowledge that the cemetery in Santa Fe is quickly reaching capacity. Veteran leaders have worked closely with Wilson, the first female veteran to serve in Congress, to establish such a facility.
“We need to get input from veterans. Then, depending on the current ownership of the preferred site, the next step will probably be to make sure the land is set aside for a new national cemetery,” Wilson said. “That way, we will be ready to move forward with construction of a new cemetery when Santa Fe reaches maximum capacity later in this decade.”
Wilson says a long road lies ahead before a veterans cemetery is actually established in central New Mexico, but it’s a project she remains committed to. Wilson has continually pushed for the project years before it’s necessary so that the federal government will be ready to act when the time comes.
“This is important,” she said at this morning’s ceremony. “Other states failed to plan as New Mexico is doing. I’ll keep working with New Mexico’s veterans today, to make sure this happens tomorrow.”
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