Lubbock is home to newest veterans cemetery in Texas

The West Texas State Veterans Cemetery is the fifth burial ground opened by Texas, which is home to 1.4 million veterans. A new state-run veterans cemetery will officially open Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Lubbock to serve more than 21,000 veterans and eligible family members living within 75 miles of it. (Texas General Land Office) A new state-run veterans cemetery will officially open Friday in Lubbock, Texas, to serve more than 21,000 veterans and eligible family members living within 75 miles of it. The West Texas State Veterans Cemetery is the fifth burial ground opened by Texas, which is home to 1.4 million veterans — one of the largest veteran populations in the country.

“Finding an honorable resting place for our veterans is incredibly important and doing that as close to their loved ones as possible so their loved ones can go visit whenever they want is also more important,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said. Previously, families in West Texas had to travel 150 miles or more to bury and visit the graves of their veteran loved ones. The $16 million project came together with support from the federal government and will continue to expand through eight phases of construction, Buckingham said. The cemetery began hosting private burials through a soft opening in June and already has thousands of