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The VA has awarded funds to three National
Cemeteries. The three press releases are below.
-------------------------
VA To Further Develop Dallas-Fort Worth National
Cemetery
October 15, 2008
QGS Development Awarded $16 Million Construction Contract
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a contract
worth more than $16 million to a Florida company to develop the next phase
of the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.
“By awarding this contract, VA demonstrates its determination to provide
burial benefits to Texas veterans and their families in a national shrine
worthy of their service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B.
Peake. “Because most of the land at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery
has yet to be developed, we expect to serve the large population of
veterans in this region for many decades.”
VA awarded the $16.1 million construction contract to QGS Development,
Inc., of Lithia, Fla., for gravesite expansion and additional
infrastructure.
The project will develop 30 acres and include approximately 15,000
pre-placed crypt gravesites, 4,000 columbaria niches and 5,480 traditional
gravesites. The project will also include a new loop road to the new
burial sections and an additional funeral cortege lane next to the
existing lanes.
 Construction
is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010. The project will
provide burial space for veterans and eligible family members until about
2020, at which time another section of the 638-acre cemetery will be
developed.
In the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War, VA
operates 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33
soldiers' lots and monument sites. More than three million Americans,
including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War
to the Global War on Terror — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses and
eligible dependent children can be buried in a national cemetery. Other
burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether
they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a
burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government
headstone or marker.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, on the Internet at
www.cem.va.gov/ , or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at
1-800-827-1000.
-------------------------
VA Awards $20 Million to Expand Fort Sam Houston
National Cemetery
October 15, 2008
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded nearly $20
million to a Texas firm to develop a new 47-acre section of Fort Sam
Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
“This expansion will ensure the veterans of the San Antonio area continue
to have the option of burial in a national shrine that honors their
military service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.
“Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is one of our most venerable national
shrines and serves a large, rapidly growing community of veterans.”
The Emerson Construction Company of Temple was awarded a $19,975,000
construction contract to develop additional gravesites and infrastructure.
Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.
With the expansion, burials for veterans and eligible family members are
expected to continue at the cemetery until about 2020.
The newly developed acreage will provide 16,023 pre-placed crypt
gravesites, 4,016 columbaria niches, 3,411 traditional gravesites and
1,475 in-ground cremation sites. The project will also include a vehicle
storage building, a new administration building, an expansion of the
existing maintenance building, an assembly area, an irrigation system,
roads, utilities, signage and landscaping.
In the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War, VA
operates 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33
soldiers' lots and monument sites. More than three million Americans,
including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War
to the Global War on Terror — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses and
eligible dependent children can be buried in a national cemetery. Other
burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether
they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a
burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government
headstone or marker.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from the Internet at
www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at
1-800-827-1000.
-------------------------
VA Awards $4.5 Million for Maryland State
Veterans Cemetery
October 15, 2008
WASHINGTON – To provide Maryland veterans with a final resting place that
honors their service to the nation, the Department of Veterans Affairs has
announced the award of a $4,448,885 grant to expand the Garrison Forest
Veterans Cemetery in Garrison Forest.
“With the expansion of this state cemetery, VA ensures that memorial
benefits for Maryland veterans will be available for many more years,”
said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “We are proud to
partner with Maryland to honor the service of the state’s veterans.”
The VA grant will fund development of burial space that includes
full-casket and in-ground cremation sites as well as columbaria structures
for cremation remains. The construction will also provide roads,
irrigation, landscaping and infrastructure.
The project will ensure continued service to more than 150,000 state
veterans and their families. The nearest national cemetery with available
grave space is VA’s Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia, approximately
95 miles away. The nearest state cemetery, at Crownsville, is about 64
miles away.
VA's State Cemetery Grants Program is designed to complement VA’s 125
national cemeteries across the country. VA state cemetery grants have
helped establish, expand or improve state veterans cemeteries since 1980.
To date, the program has helped establish 72 state veterans cemeteries in
38 states and U.S. territories, including all five of Maryland’s state
veterans cemeteries. Nationwide, state cemeteries provided more than
23,000 burials in 2007. Since the program began, VA has awarded 172 grants
totaling more than $344 million.
The Garrison Forest cemetery is the most active of Maryland’s five state
veterans cemeteries, with more than 1,200 burials a year.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from the VA Web site at
www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at
1-800-827-1000.
Information about Maryland state veterans cemeteries can be obtained at
www.mdva.state.md.us/burial.html .
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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