On Tuesday morning, ground was broken for the multimillion-dollar expansion of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton.
The $3,628,930 project, which is being funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA), will include the construction of 1,500 pre-placed crypts across five acres.
�We just broke ground this week on a $3.6 million expansion� Mississippi Veterans Affairs Executive Director Stacey Pickering said. �We�ve already got over 1,100 veterans and their family members buried there. Every veteran is entitled to two burial slots, and it looks just like Arlington National Cemetery.�
According to a previous statement from the VA, the NCA will continue to do everything they can for Mississippi�s 200,000 veterans.
�Our state partners are critical in helping NCA achieve our strategic goal of making sure veterans and their family members have burial options when needed,� Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves said. �We will continue to work with and support states such as Mississippi to provide grants that reflect the needs, resources, and preferences of the local veteran community.�
The cemetery expansion is scheduled to wrap up within 8 to 12 months.
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