One of the many New National Cemeteries that have come online this past year, in many cases communities and veterans from have been seeking same for years. Many of the new, as well as upgrading in a number of ways and needs, existing, around the Country have come about through the New Veterans Administration leadership as well as the Executive Branch and funded by government economic recovery {stimulus} funds in this collapsed economy, creating jobs to build as well as long term jobs to fill the needs. The Nation forced to 'Sacrifice', that itself doesn't demand!
Sanford Fire Chief Raymond Parent, chairman of the Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association, kneels Wednesday in front of the committal building where funeral services will be held at the new veteran’s cemetery in Sanford, which will have its dedication ceremony on Tuesday. JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune
August 21, 2010 - It will be their final resting place, the spot where loved ones come on a sun-washed spring day to adorn a white marble cross with a nosegay of sweet peas. It will be the place to visit on Memorial Day and on Veterans Day to pay respects.
It will be the place for veterans – for those who fought in the grime of war, for those whose blood was shed, and for those who served in peacetime, but were primed and ready to fight, had the call gone out.
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The cemetery has been 10 years in the making. The quest began in 2001, when then-Bureau of Veterans Affairs Director Frank Soares put out the word to local media, hoping publicity would spur a donation of land. The land had to be free, because while the federal government will pay for cemetery construction, it will not pay for land. There were some other offers, but the most feasible one came from Riverside Cemetery, which offered up 58 acres.
The folks at Riverside Cemetery, said Parent, made the project possible. Then the town stepped in and offered another 30 acres. Since then, many others have played a role in the project’s development.
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The federal government injected $4.2 million into construction of the first phase of the cemetery. Richmond said the veteran’s bureau is awaiting word on a federal grant to pay for a columbarium niche wall to hold cremains that aren’t buried in the ground, along with an administration building. He said the state has hired a full-time manager and two seasonal employees.
For now, those desiring to schedule burials should call the Augusta office at 287-3481.
Richmond said the first phase will contain space for upwards of 10,000 burials. Eventually there will be space for 20,000. {read more}



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