Tennessee Department of Veterans Services
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves announced the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads will begin accepting online-pre registrations for burial beginning immediately. The cemetery will opened Friday, July 6th, 2018.
The 132-acre cemetery is located at 693 Wildersville Road and will serve more than 45,000 veterans and their families within 17 counties in West Tennessee.
“We are very proud of the reverence, service and legacy our state veterans cemeteries offer to veterans and their families,” Haslam said. “This is the first rural veterans cemetery for the state and we believe it will be a valuable benefit and resource for west Tennessee.”
There are currently two state veterans cemeteries in Knoxville, one in Nashville and one in Memphis. Additionally, there are national cemeteries in Knoxville, Mountain Home, Chattanooga, Nashville and Memphis. In 2011, the Department determined a portion of veterans living between Nashville and Memphis and Knoxville and Nashville did not have access to a veterans cemetery within a 75 mile radius of their communities and families.
“These pristine fields of honor are much more than a final resting place,” Grinder said. “Each headstone will represent selfless service, courage, the volunteer spirit and a life of patriotic purpose. We are honored to be able to offer this place of peace, reflection and remembrance.”
The National Cemetery Administration awarded $5,754,802.00 in federal funding for the construction of the cemetery, which started in 2016.
“Our state and tribal partners are critical in helping the National Cemetery Administration achieve its strategic goal of providing 95 percent of the Veteran population with convenient access to a burial option within 75 miles of their home,” Reeves said. “We will continue to work with and support states like Tennessee to provide grants which reflect the needs, resources and preferences of the local veteran community.”
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), State Rep. Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads), State Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) have been supporters of the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads project.
To pre-register for burial at the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads or find out more about State Veterans Cemeteries visit tn.gov/veteran.
More information on a cemetery dedication ceremony will be announced in the next few weeks.
