National Cemetery Administration
VA Receives Land Donation to Expand Salisbury National Cemetery
January 24, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration announced today that it has acquired 30.3 acres of land donated by the Rowan County YMCA to expand Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina.
"Expanding Salisbury National Cemetery will ensure our Veterans and eligible family members living in North Carolina will continue to have the access to the benefits they have earned and deserve," said VA's Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves. "I am very grateful to the Rowan County YMCA for making this generous donation to our Nation's Veterans and their families."
The donation consists of unimproved wooded land located west of and contiguous with Salisbury National Cemetery Annex, which is located at 501 Statesville Boulevard in Salisbury.
Salisbury National Cemetery is the only national cemetery in North Carolina open to new interments for Veterans and eligible family members. Before the expansion, Salisbury National Cemetery consisted of 63.5 acres of land, 74% of which had already been developed. More than 26,000 Veterans and eligible family members are interred there. Current estimates project that the donated land will allow interments for approximately 25 additional years.
VA operates 141 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites in 41 states and Puerto Rico. For Veterans not buried in a VA national cemetery, VA provides headstones, markers or medallions to commemorate their service. Information on VA burial benefits is available from local VA national cemetery offices, online at https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/ or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000. To make burial arrangements at any open VA national cemetery at the time of need, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117.
For more information about the Salisbury National Cemetery, contact Cemetery Director Steven Fezler at 704-636-2661 or visit https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/salisbury.asp.
