VA awards $3.7M for new veterans’ cemetery in Cherokee – WSOC TV

VA awards $3.7M for new veterans’ cemetery in Cherokee  WSOC TV

The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded up to $3.7 million to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to help establish the Burgess-Oocumma Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Cherokee. WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded up to $3.7 million to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to help establish the Burgess-Oocumma Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Cherokee. The cemetery will provide burial services for veterans and eligible family members and expand access to veterans’ burial benefits in western North Carolina. Funding from the VA National Cemetery Administration will cover the construction of 250 in-ground burial plots, 190 columbarium niches and a memorial wall. The project also includes a committal shelter, a flag plaza, a partial maintenance building, hardscape, landscape, equipment and supporting infrastructure.

VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Sam Brown highlighted the impact of federal grant programs for state and tribal communities. “These grants enable the States and Tribes to better serve Veterans and their families where they live,” Brown said. “Because of this program, more than 94% of veterans living in the United States have access to the burial benefits they have earned at a cemetery within 75 miles of where they live.” The grant is part of a long-running national initiative managed by the VA National Cemetery Administration. Since 1980, the agency has awarded 525 grants