VA Selects Sarasota County National Cemetery Site

May 19, 2006

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected a 466-acre property in Sarasota County as the site for a new national cemetery in west central Florida.

“Establishing a national shrine in the Sarasota area will ensure that thousands of men and women in this region who have worn the uniform have a final resting place that honors their military service,” said the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

VA recently completed environmental assessments of three possible cemetery sites and the Secretary made his decision after considering the viability of each site. 

The property to be acquired is part of a larger property known as the Hawkins Ranch and is located four miles east of Interstate 75, southeast of the City of Sarasota. 

Funding for the purchase of the land was appropriated in the fiscal year ‘06 budget and additional funding will be necessary for the design and construction phases.  The cemetery is anticipated to open for burials between late 2008 and mid-2009.

At least 378,000 veterans live within 75 miles of the site.  The closest VA cemetery in Florida, open to casket and cremated remains, is Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, which is about 110 miles from the City of Sarasota.  

Veterans whose discharges are other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children may be buried in a national cemetery, regardless of where they live.  No advance reservations are made.  Other burial benefits for eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker.

In the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War, VA operates 123 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites.  More than three million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 16,000 acres of land.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from a VA Web site at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.

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