Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a $5.7 million federal grant to expand and allow for year-round operation of the Vermont Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Randolph Center near Vermont Technical College. The cemetery is currently open only from May through the first week in December each year. The US Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration grant will fund the addition of 1,640 burial plots, including 410 pre-placed crypts for in-ground casket burials, 390 in-ground cremains plots, and 840 columbarium niches. The grant will also fund the construction of a main entrance, public information center, maintenance facility, landscaping, memorial walkway, and supporting infrastructure. A new road system will also be constructed to more directly connect visitors to the Chapel and allow a secondary exit from the site. The total expansion will include the development of approximately 12 acres.
“As Vermonters, we’re incredibly proud to honor those who have served our state and country,” Shumlin said. “This grant will enhance our ability to do that and ensure we are able to remember and memorialize the sacrifices made by so many Vermonters.”
"This is the successful end of a great deal of hard work over the last few years in order to ensure Vermont veterans continue to have a dedicated final resting place,” said Robert Burke, Director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs. “One that they earned and deserve."
The grant will help Vermont continue to provide service for roughly 52,000 veterans and their families. Construction is scheduled to begin in early August.