(INDIANAPOLIS) – The VA has dedicated a second national cemetery in Indianapolis.
A section of Crown Hill Cemetery has been set aside since the Civil War as a national cemetery for America’s veterans. That section reached its capacity of 2,000 graves in 1959. Now an expansion reserved for cremated remains will begin accepting the ashes of more than 3,400 veterans. Eventually, the new columbarium north of the main cemetery grounds will have room for 10 times that many.
Construction began on the new cemetery a year ago. Department of Veterans Affairs officials gathered in Indianapolis Friday for a dedication ceremony. Deputy secretary Donald Remy says the cemetery restores an option for Hoosier veterans who want the honor of burial in a national cemetery, but don’t want to travel far from home. Nine out of 10 veterans live within about an hour’s drive of a national, state or tribal veterans’ cemetery.
The two Crown Hill properties are among four national cemeteries in Indiana, with the others in Marion and New Albany.
