Washington, D.C. – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West Jr. today announced the award of a $741,108 grant to the State of Indiana to construct a "fast-track" section at the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Madison to provide interim burial service while the cemetery's design is finalized.
The grant will fund 500 pre-placed liners, or crypts, temporary roads, an office trailer and design costs. An architectural and engineering team is now working on the master plan for the 120-acre site. VA expects to approve final plans by the end of the year, enabling construction of roads, buildings and other structures to begin. VA will then increase the amount of the current grant to cover the cost of the final construction.
This cemetery will be Indiana's first state veterans' cemetery funded by VA's State Cemetery Grants Program (SCGP). The SCGP has helped to establish, expand or improve 41 operational state veterans cemeteries. Six other cemeteries, including Madison, are now under construction.
Since the program was established in 1980, VA has awarded 103 grants to 25 states plus Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas for more than $75 million. The state veterans cemeteries provided 13,383 burials in FY 1999. So far in FY 2000, VA has awarded five new grants for more than $7.8 million, a record amount exceeding any previous fiscal year. The total of new grant awards plus grant increases for FY 2000 is $13,116,286, also a record.
Since 1862, VA has operated a national cemetery for veterans in New Albany, Ind., approximately 45 miles west of Madison. The 5.4-acre New Albany site exhausted all available space for new burials in 1991. The nearest open VA national cemetery is located in Marion, approximately 120 miles north of Madison.
Specific information about the grants program is available by contacting VA's State Cemetery Grants Service at (202) 565-6801. Eligibility for burial in a state veterans' cemetery varies for each state. Details may be obtained by contacting the state's agency for veterans' affairs.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices or by calling VA regional offices toll-free on 1-800-827-1000, or from VA web sites on the Internet at http://www.va.gov or http://www.cem.va.gov.
