Dedication ceremony will be held Saturday for new national cemetery | Arts & Culture

Veterans Affairs will hold a dedication ceremony for the new Louisiana National Cemetery in Zachary on Saturday, March 24 at 11 a.m. Construction at the site located on West Mount Pleasant Road has already begun. The ceremony will be open to the public.

“I’ve heard concerns from Veterans that when Port Hudson National Cemetery reaches capacity, they will no longer have burial benefits in their local area,” said Rex Kern, director of Port Hudson National Cemetery. “This ceremony is our opportunity to assure all Louisiana Veterans and family members that their benefits will continue for many years to come,”

Dedications for new national cemeteries are public and celebratory events involving military band music, an Avenue of Flags, an official ground breaking and the unveiling of a dedication plaque. Participants will include military personnel, members of Veterans Service Organizations, national and local public officials,  and VA officials.

The 19.9-acre Port Hudson National Cemetery will close to first interment casketed burials in July 2012, although it will stay active with casketed interments of those with family members already buried there. Space for cremated remains is estimated to be depleted in 2015. More than 14,000 military service members, Veterans and family members are interred there.

Louisiana National Cemetery is located approximately one and half miles from Port Hudson National Cemetery on 103.8 acres of land. Construction will include both gravesites and columbarium development in two phases, providing a full range of burial alternatives to approximately 293,000 Veterans and eligible family members in the East Baton Rouge Parish and the surrounding area.