WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman John L. Mica (R-7th District) joined State and other national veterans leaders at a groundbreaking and dedication ceremony for the new Jacksonville National Cemetery on Sunday September 21, 2008. The cemetery is located north of the Jacksonville International Airport and approximately five miles from Interstate 295 at 3461 Lannie Road in Jacksonville. The Veterans Administration said that the location was chosen to provide burial sites for north Florida and south Georgia veterans.
Phase one of the 526-acre Jacksonville National Cemetery is scheduled to be completed late this year. It will consist of 20 acres providing 8,145 full-casket gravesites, including 7,300 pre-placed crypts, 5,100 in-ground cremation sites and 4,992 columbarium niches. The new accommodations will provide veterans a new burial location as other VA cemeteries such as the St. Augustine Veterans Cemetery and no longer have space for new internments.
Within three years the Jacksonville National Cemetery will add roadways, an administration and public information center, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway and other landscaping improvements. Congressman Mica stated that, “When the cemetery is completed, the 526 acre facility will provide the estimated 189,000 veterans of Northeast Florida, South Georgia and their loved ones an honorable and hallowed final resting place.”
The Veterans Administration anticipates burials to begin in January 2009 and that this cemetery will serve veterans' needs for more than 100 years. Once two new national cemeteries in Northeast and Southwest Florida are open, there will be seven VA cemeteries in the Sunshine State, including Barrancas, St. Augustine, Florida National, South Florida and Bay Pines.