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.
