CAS3
03-01-04, 03:17 PM
VA Names New National Cemetery in Georgia
WASHINGTON (March 1, 2004) - The Department of Veterans Affairs has named
the new national cemetery in the Atlanta area the "Georgia National
Cemetery."
The 775-acre site is located in Cherokee County approximately 40 miles north
of Atlanta. Nearly 400,000 veterans and their families live within 75 miles
of the site.
"Naming this wonderful new facility the Georgia National Cemetery emphasizes
its status as an enduring shrine for the veterans of the entire state," said
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.
The name was recommended by local residents and approved by Principi.
Currently there are no open national cemeteries in Georgia. The two closest
open VA national cemeteries are Chattanooga National Cemetery, 118 miles
away in Tennessee, and Fort Mitchell National Cemetery, 130 miles away in
Alabama.
The 110-acre initial construction phase calls for 17,200 full-casket
gravesites, 12,000 pre-placed crypts, a 3,000-unit columbarium, 765 sites
for in-ground cremated remains and a scattering garden for cremated remains.
The plan also includes construction of an administration and maintenance
complex, three committal service shelters, a public information center with
electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms, a cemetery entrance area,
flag assembly area, memorial walkway and donations area and infrastructure
elements including roadways, landscaping, utilities and irrigation.
Construction is estimated to begin in late 2004 and burials are expected to
begin by late 2005 in an initial burial area. This burial section, separate
from the overall construction project, allows for burials to begin during
construction of the cemetery. The cemetery staff will conduct initial
operations from a temporary office, committal service shelter and equipment
shed until the construction is completed.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses and
eligible dependent children can be buried in a national cemetery. Other
burial benefits include a burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate and
a government headstone or marker - even if they are not buried in a national
cemetery.
VA, now in the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War,
operates 120 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, 33 soldiers'
lots and monument sites. More than 2.5 million Americans, including
veterans of every war and conflict - from the Revolutionary War to the
current war against terrorism - are buried in VA's national cemeteries on
more than 14,200 acres of land.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov <http://www.cem.va.gov/>
or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.
WASHINGTON (March 1, 2004) - The Department of Veterans Affairs has named
the new national cemetery in the Atlanta area the "Georgia National
Cemetery."
The 775-acre site is located in Cherokee County approximately 40 miles north
of Atlanta. Nearly 400,000 veterans and their families live within 75 miles
of the site.
"Naming this wonderful new facility the Georgia National Cemetery emphasizes
its status as an enduring shrine for the veterans of the entire state," said
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.
The name was recommended by local residents and approved by Principi.
Currently there are no open national cemeteries in Georgia. The two closest
open VA national cemeteries are Chattanooga National Cemetery, 118 miles
away in Tennessee, and Fort Mitchell National Cemetery, 130 miles away in
Alabama.
The 110-acre initial construction phase calls for 17,200 full-casket
gravesites, 12,000 pre-placed crypts, a 3,000-unit columbarium, 765 sites
for in-ground cremated remains and a scattering garden for cremated remains.
The plan also includes construction of an administration and maintenance
complex, three committal service shelters, a public information center with
electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms, a cemetery entrance area,
flag assembly area, memorial walkway and donations area and infrastructure
elements including roadways, landscaping, utilities and irrigation.
Construction is estimated to begin in late 2004 and burials are expected to
begin by late 2005 in an initial burial area. This burial section, separate
from the overall construction project, allows for burials to begin during
construction of the cemetery. The cemetery staff will conduct initial
operations from a temporary office, committal service shelter and equipment
shed until the construction is completed.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses and
eligible dependent children can be buried in a national cemetery. Other
burial benefits include a burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate and
a government headstone or marker - even if they are not buried in a national
cemetery.
VA, now in the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War,
operates 120 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, 33 soldiers'
lots and monument sites. More than 2.5 million Americans, including
veterans of every war and conflict - from the Revolutionary War to the
current war against terrorism - are buried in VA's national cemeteries on
more than 14,200 acres of land.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov <http://www.cem.va.gov/>
or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.