Fighting for the National Cemetery in Dolington, Upper Makefield Township

Addressing an Important Need

• Southeastern Pennsylvania is home to approximately 340,000 veterans and is one of the last heavily-populated areas of the country that does not have a National Veterans Cemetery open for burials. 
• The quiet, pristine farmland at Dolington – close to where George Washington and the first American patriots crossed the Delaware River – is a fitting location that will serve to commemorate all American patriots, past, present and future. 

Making Significant Progress

• On March 27, 2008, the 205-acre Dolington site officially became federal property after officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Toll Brothers, Inc signed documents completing the sale. On that same day, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced that the cemetery would be called “Washington Crossing VA National Cemetery.”
• Congressman Murphy helped to lead a broad-based, bipartisan effort that included Supervisors from the Townships of Upper Makefield, Newtown, and Wrightstown, as well as the Bucks County Director of Veterans Affairs and the Council Rock School Board.
• The final agreement was possible only through the hard work of veterans, elected officials, and other concerned citizens – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents coming together for the good of the community and our veterans.
• The VA anticipates that the first burials in the new Washington Crossing VA National Cemetery will begin in 2009.

Fulfilling a Great Moral Obligation

• Those who have sacrificed so much to ensure our freedom deserve a fitting final resting place worthy of their service to our great nation.  That’s why Congressman Murphy has worked so hard to make the Washington Crossing VA National Cemetery project a reality.