Western New York National Cemetery

Western NY Area National Cemetery
Details
Established 2016
Location Pembroke, New York
Country United States
Type Public
Owned by United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Size 132 acres (53 ha)
Number of graves 0

Coordinates: 43°01′02″N 78°24′06″W / 43.0171263°N 78.401722°W / 43.0171263; -78.401722

The Western New York National Cemetery is a new United States National Cemetery located in the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Buffalo and 45 miles (72 km) west of Rochester in New York. The cemetery's street address is in Corfu but the property is actually located in the town of Pembroke. It encompasses 132 acres (53 ha) and is the seventh National Cemetery operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the New York. It is expected to have room for the burial of over 96,000 veterans and be open for 70 years. The cemetery is located near exit 48A of the New York State Thruway.[1]

History

The VA purchased the property in May 2014 for $625,000. Initial development is planned for 70 acres (28 ha) to provide approximately 10 years of capacity for burials of both casketed and cremated remains. The location provides a burial option much closer to the Western New York population centers than the Bath National Cemetery in Steuben County. Prior to the creation of the cemetery, the Western New York area had the largest veterans population without a nearby veterans cemetery.[2] The Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill included $36 million for cemetery construction which will allow construction to begin in 2017.[3]

Naming

The permanent name for the cemetery, based upon geographic location, was announced in May 2016.[4] US Senator Charles Schumer proposed the cemetery be named after a local war hero William J. Donovan.[5] The policy of the VA is that National cemeteries be named based on the geographic area in which the cemetery is located.

Facilities

Development will include roads, landscaping, administration and maintenance buildings, a public information center, and restrooms. Cremated remains will be interred in marble columbariums. Design is planned to be completed in 2016, and construction of the first 60-acre (24 ha) section is expected to take three years. Construction of subsequent phases will occur when additional burial space is required.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Cemetery - Western New York Area" (PDF). Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Pembroke picked as site for Western New York veterans cemetery". Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Krencik, Jim (September 30, 2016). "Funding for Pembroke VA Cemetery approved by Congress". The Daily News. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Name released for new veterans cemetery in Pembroke". Watertown Daily News. May 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Veterans Cemetery". Retrieved March 19, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.