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$1.7M grant OK’d for veterans cemetery
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Posted on Aug 25 2005
The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs approved yesterday a $1.7 million grant for the construction of a veterans’ cemetery on Saipan. The grant will pay all of the permissible costs for creating a cemetery of about 4.6 acres, including 1,200 gravesites, a committal shelter, roads, drainage and an irrigation system.
“Partnering with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on this project is one way in which VA honors our commitments to the sacrifices of the men and women who served in uniform,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson. “This partnership provides a final resting place for the Commonwealth’s veterans that meets the high standards of a national shrine.”
Design of the cemetery to be located in Marpi has been completed, and the contract for construction will be awarded within weeks.
“We have been working on bringing a veterans cemetery to Saipan for almost 12 years, and now it will be a reality,” said Gov. Juan N. Babauta. “I am grateful to Secretary Nicholson and the VA for honoring the brave veterans of the Commonwealth.”
The Northern Mariana Islands grant is part of the VA State Cemetery Grants Program, which complements VA’s 120 national cemeteries by helping to establish, expand or improve 60 veterans cemeteries in U.S. states and territories. (PR)
