VA Honors Military Sacrifice on Memorial Day
28 May 2010 WASHINGTON – From parades to somber ceremonies and a moment of silence, Americans will recall the sacrifices of military personnel who paid the ultimate price for freedom on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31.
“Those fallen heroes we honor this Memorial Day answered their call to duty, and in so doing, they honored us,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We owe them our deep and profound gratitude. We must pass that sense of obligation to the next generation.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue its annual tradition of hosting services at most of its national cemeteries and many other facilities nationwide. The programs, which are the focus of Memorial Day events in many communities, honor the service of deceased Veterans and military members who die on active duty.
President Obama will speak at VA’s Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., near Chicago, on Monday. Vice President Biden will lead the observance at Arlington National Cemetery, with VA Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould in attendance.
For the dates and times of Memorial Day weekend programs at VA national cemeteries, visit VA National Cemeteries.
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend activities at VA's national cemeteries, with color guards, readings, bands and choir performances. Events will honor about one million men and women who died in the military during wartime, including about 655,000 battle deaths.
Some national cemetery observances are unique. Continued
And continuing what has already been started in this VA Administration the fixing up of some, the expansion of others and the building of new, around the Country:
Secretary Shinseki Announces $19.5 Million Cemetery Construction Contract for Greater Philadelphia
May 28, 2010 WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today a nearly $19.5 million contract to develop the next phase of Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, Pa.
“We are pleased to continue to develop this national shrine in the Keystone State,” said Secretary Shinseki. “VA is committed to providing the best possible service to Philadelphia-area Veterans by constructing new burial areas and building permanent facilities.”
The contract was awarded to G&C Fab-Con, LLC, a service-disabled Veteran-owned small business from Flemington, N.J. in the amount of $19,497,300.
The project is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.
Administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the 205-acre national cemetery in the Philadelphia area will continue to serve Veterans’ needs for at least the next 50 years. The cemetery, which serves approximately 580,000 Veterans in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, is located near the borough of Newtown in Bucks County, about three miles northwest of Interstate 95 and less than three miles from Washington Crossing Historic Park.
In January, VA completed a 12-acre early burial area with temporary facilities. The first burials at the new cemetery took place Jan. 20. Continued
Most of these projects, along with a number of others in the VA system including upgrading the technology and record keeping, have been happening with the stimulus funds, thus creating jobs to do them as well as having the Country pay for what they would normally refuse to, through their representatives, in agency budgets coming from the taxes paid. In other words, the way I look at it, Finally making the Country Sacrifice for those that already have for them and one of the promises made is the care of the returning soldier!
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