WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded a grant of almost $1.7 million to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to establish a veterans cemetery on Saipan.
"By partnering with state veterans cemeteries, VA is able to honor our commitments to the men and women who have served in uniform," said the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "This partnership provides a final resting place for the Commonwealth's veterans that meets the high standards of a national shrine."
The grant will pay 100 percent of the allowable costs for establishing a 4.6 acre cemetery, including roads, drainage, committal shelter and irrigation. It also includes 1,200 grave sites.
VA's State Cemetery Grants Program complements VA's 121 national cemeteries. The grants have helped establish, expand or improve 60 state veterans cemeteries that provided more than 19,000 burials in fiscal year 2004. Two additional state cemeteries are under construction. Since the program began in 1980, VA has awarded 141 grants totaling more than $215 million to 30 states and Guam.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the VA Web site on the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.
