WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi today announced the award of a $1.2 million grant to the state of Rhode Island for improvements at the Rhode IslandVeteransCemetery in Exeter. This grant will provide for construction of a columbarium for cremated remains, a committal shelter and a maintenance building.
Established in 1974, the 170-acre cemetery is the fourth most active state veterans cemetery in the country. The Exeter cemetery had 1,009 interments of eligible veterans and family members in fiscal year 2001. Since 1983, the facility has received four VA grants totaling $3 million for expansion and improvement.
As a complement to VA’s system of national cemeteries, the State Cemetery Grants Program has helped establish, expand or improve 47 operational state veterans cemeteries. Three additional cemeteries are under construction in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Grand Junction, Colo., and Milledgeville, Ga.
The state veterans cemeteries provided 15,409 burials in fiscal year 2001. Since the program began in 1980, VA has awarded 112 grants for more than $116 million to 28 states, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
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 about eligibility for the Rhode Island cemetery may be obtained from the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Affairs at (401) 462-0350.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from VA web sites on the Internet at http://www.va.gov or http://www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free on 1-800-827-1000.
