Recent legislation directs the Department of Defense to provide military honors upon request for all honorably discharged veterans buried in VA or other cemeteries, beginning January 1, 2000. VA began planning to meet the growing demand for national cemetery burial a decade ago by identifying localities with the largest veteran populations not served by a veterans cemetery. That led to the most active period of national cemetery construction since Lincoln's time. VA opened new cemeteries in Saratoga, N.Y. , and near Chicago in 1999. New national cemeteries soon will open in Dallas-Fort Worth and near Cleveland .
States play a major role in meeting the demand for veterans' burial space.
Under an expanded State Cemetery Grant Program , VA is authorized to pay 100 percent of the construction and equipment costs to build a state veterans cemetery. VA's goal is to provide access to a veterans cemetery, national or state, within 75 miles of any veteran's home. Completion of current construction will provide that access to three-quarters of the veteran population. VA hopes to provide it to 80 percent of the veteran population by 2003. VA national cemeteries are America's hallowed ground , dedicated in lasting memory to the men and women buried there and to all the nation's veterans.