A new veteran’s cemetery is coming to the Gem State. The facility in the eastern part of the state will be Idaho’s third burial ground for those who served in the armed forces.
The newest veteran’s cemetery will break ground next summer in Bingham County. Forty acres of farmland near State Hospital South in Blackfoot will be made over into a final resting place for service members.
Funding for the project comes from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The Idaho State Journal reports the state received a grant for the cemetery project totaling more than $7 million. The grants are given to localities that aren’t able to fully utilize the national cemeteries scattered across the country.
In a release, Governor Butch Otter says the facility is an important investment in protecting and preserving the sacrifices those who’ve served made.
Initially, about half of the 40 acre parcel will be developed. A columbarium, crypts and 150 in-ground burial plots will be readied in the first phase of the project.
The State Veterans Cemetery in Blackfoot will be Idaho’s third. There’s a National Rural Veterans Cemetery under construction in Buhl and a graveyard for service members in Boise.
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