Memorial Day ceremony returns to Abilene veterans cemetery while expansion underway
Silence that typically blankets the Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene is interrupted these days by more than funeral services.
Work crews are preparing undeveloped sections of the far north Abilene cemetery at 7457 W. Lake Road to accommodate more free burials of veterans, their spouses and eligible dependents.
On Monday, the silence respectfully gives way to a Memorial Day ceremony honoring the men and women who died during military service. The annual event has been on hiatus since 2019 because of COVID-19.
Since the cemetery opened June 1, 2009, following a Memorial Day dedication a few days earlier, usage of the cemetery is "ahead of what we had projected," said Dr. John Kelley, deputy director of the state's four veterans cemeteries.
"That's true of all the cemeteries, not just Abilene," he added.
The Abilene project is funded by a $3.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to the Texas Veterans Land Board, which oversees the state's four veterans cemeteries.
The land board is a division of the Texas General Land Office.
Increased usage can be accommodated, with the Abilene location on 63 acres. Only 31 acres have been developed.
"As we need to expand, we've got room to do that," Kelley said.
Honoring veterans' service
Texas opened its first two veterans cemeteries in 2006, initially in Killeen and then Mission.
A fourth cemetery was added in 2011 at Corpus Christi.
The cemeteries were built through federal and state cooperation.
Abilene was selected as a site to serve more than 25,000 veterans and their eligible family members living within 75 miles of the cemetery. But the cemetery buries any eligible veteran without geographic limitation.
"Any eligible veteran any where in the state or across the country, if they want to be buried there, they can," Kelley said.
Six national cemeteries operated by the VA are in Texas as well.
"What we're trying to do with our state cemeteries is locate them where they serve a population that's not already served by a national cemetery," Kelley said.
The placement of cemeteries, state and national, is based on a VA goal that 95% of the veteran population has a state or national cemetery within 75 miles, he said.
The state follows VA procedures and guidelines for veteran burials and provides the same burial benefits as the national cemeteries.
Those benefits include a gravesite in any one of the cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag and a presidential memorial certificate, at no cost to the family.
Uniform burials
The Abilene cemetery averages two commitments a day, with the majority for veterans of the Vietnam War era, Kelley said.
"We've had some spikes due to COVID, frankly, that have contributed to a little bit higher rate as well," Kelley said.
The Abilene location offers three burial options:
► In-ground casket burial with an upright tombstone that is uniform across state and national cemeteries.
► Columbarium interment of cremated remains in an urn. The space for the urn is covered by a marble or granite niche engraved with the veteran's name and other snippets of information.
► Interment of cremated remains in an urn in an in-ground burial section with an upright tombstone. The plots are smaller than the ones for casket burials.
Many internments involve casket burials, but cremations are becoming more common, Kelley said. He attributes the trend to growing acceptance of the practice and its cost efficiency compared to a funeral service involving a casket.
What is being added at Abilene site
One of Kelley's tasks is monitoring usage to ensure that adequate burial or commitment space is available in the near future.
"We're not extremely close to running out, but we were getting low on available casket burial space," Kelley said about the Abilene location.
The state requested grant money from the VA's National Cemetery Administration to expand the Abilene cemetery.
The bulk of the grant awarded in October is for establishing 1,000 pre-positioned crypts for casket burials. The work is occurring on the north side of the cemetery entrance.
The process involves digging a hole for the insertion of concrete grave liners with a lid. The liners are covered with dirt and irrigation installed in the area.
"When we have a casket burial service, we just simply uncovered the lid of the of the grave liner" to make the internment, Kelley said.
The grant also is funding automatic front gates, road work, irrigation updates, upgrade of air conditioning at administration building and installation of a walkway and pad for a planned Vietnam Era Veterans Memorial Monument. The memorial will be at the far end of the memorial walkway near a columbarium.
Fundraising for the memorial is being coordinated by the Community Foundation of Abilene. About half of the memorial's projected $70,000 cost has been raised, said foundation President/CEO Katie Alford.
Donations to the memorial can be made at the foundation's website https://cfa.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list. On the online list search for "Texas Veterans Cemetery – Vietnam Memorial Project." The mailing address is 850 N. First Street (P.O. Box 1001), Abilene, 79604.
Abilene distinctions
While tombstones, columbariums, signage and other operations are uniform at state and national veterans cemeteries according to VA standards, the Abilene cemetery does have distinctions.
"The cultural element comes in at each of the cemeteries, and so they're all unique in that regard," Kelley said. "... With regards to Abilene, it's the Air Force support that we can get there which is different from anywhere else."
Dyess AFB is closer to the Abilene cemetery than Fort Hood is to Killeen and the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to the cemetery serving the coastal region. Mission is not near an active military installation.
That local military support for the Abilene location will be evident during the Memorial Day ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Monday, Kelley said. Dyess Air Force Base personnel assisted in the event planning and is providing logistical support. The base honor guard will post the colors.
Because of the construction work near the front gate, visitor traffic is being diverted from the cemetery's main entrance to Comanche Trail on the north side of the cemetery for an alternate entrance.
Updates on activities at the Abilene location, including construction progress and invites to the public to attend funerals for unaccompanied veterans, are posted on the Facebook page Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene.
Visitors do not have to wait until special events such as Memorial Day to appreciate the quiet presence of the cemetery. It is open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
Memorial Day ceremony plans
When: 10:45 a.m. Monday
Where: 7457 W. Lake Road
Schedule:
10:45 a.m.: Arrival music by Abilene Community Band
10:55 a.m.: Welcoming comments
10:56 a.m.: Arrival of Patriot Guard Riders
10:57 a.m.: Missing man formation fly over by Big Country One Flight
11 a.m.: Formal ceremony opening. Service will include introduction of Gold Star families who had a loved one die in service to the country and guest speaker Chief Master Sgt. Jessica Player. Firing of volleys and playing "Taps" also are scheduled.
Why are there coins on veterans' tombstones
Coins left on military tombstones signify a relationship between the visitor and the deceased, based on the value of the coin.
A penny signifies a visit.
A nickel is placed by a person who served in boot camp with the deceased.
A dime means the visitor and deceased served together in some capacity.
A quarter signals that the visitor was present when the veteran died.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene veterans cemetery readies for Memorial Day ceremony
