(The Center Square) – The veterans cemetery at Camp Navajo in northern Arizona will be getting roughly 1,000 more plots intended for veterans and some of their close loved ones.
The news release from Monday said that the effort started in April and will be finished in August, as there were concerns that the Flagstaff-area cemetery would become full by this coming January.
“This expansion will allow us to inter more Veterans here at the cemetery and utilize the grant provided by the National Cemetery Administration. It will also allow us to better serve Veterans and their families of Northern Arizona,” AVMC-Camp Navajo Cemetery Administrator Judy Dillman said in a statement.
Funding for the project came from a $1.9 million grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in 2023, and it will help with other improvements to the cemetery. The plan to have 340 crypts and 595 “in-ground urns” appears to have been delayed, as a news release from September indicated that the project would be done by winter of this year.
“Our military service members preserve the everyday freedoms each of us enjoy, and that patriotism must never be forgotten. This award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will allow more families to properly honor their lost loved ones in a space that will respect the impact their service had on our state,” Gov. Katie Hobbs said in September 2023 when the grant was announced.
There are three veterans cemeteries operated by the state Department of Veterans Services, including one in Marana and one in Sierra Vista. The National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona is located in north Phoenix and is overseen by the federal government.