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Planned veterans cemetery accepting applications for some burials
| Monday, Jun 30 2008 5:18 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Jul 1 2008 7:38 AM
The national veterans cemetery, which is expected to begin development in Kern County later this year, is accepting applications for the burial of cremated remains.
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The names of eligible veterans or spouses of veterans who have been cremated will be placed in a pending file, said Wes Jones, the director of the planned cemetery. Burial of the remains will be scheduled after the cemetery is ready to begin accepting the remains.
Meanwhile, no construction has begun at the 500-acre site located about 30 miles east of Bakersfield. The ownership of the land, expected to be donated by Tejon Ranch, is still in the “deed transfer process,” said Jones.
The new cemetery eventually will serve some 200,000 veterans in central California who are not currently provided burial space by a nearby national or state veterans cemetery.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had anticipated construction of the first phase of the cemetery would begin this summer, but Jones said groundbreaking is now scheduled for sometime in the fall, with the earliest burials expected during the winter months, possibly in early 2009.
Initial construction will prepare a 20-acre area to ensure that burials can take place before all phase one facilities are completed. Phase one also will consist of roadways, an entrance area, an administration and public information center, a maintenance complex with buildings, a maintenance yard and parking, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway and two committal service shelters.
According to a VA release, burial grounds in phase one will include some 5,700 full-casket gravesites, 4,000 pre-placed crypts, 500 in-ground cremation burial sites and 3,000 columbarium niches for cremated remains.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children are eligible for burial in a national cemetery. For eligibility information or details on how to add names to the pending file, call the national cemetery scheduling office at (800) 535-1117. Jones is also willing to take questions at 632-1894.