The State of Vermont and the Office of Veterans Affairs Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph Center. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and the Vermont National Guard adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Steven Cray spoke at the ceremony.
The state received $5.7 million in federal funds for the expansion project in July.
The expansion project has been in the works for about four or five years, according to Robert Burke, director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs. The Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services will manage the project.
The grant will fund the addition of 1,640 burial plots, including 410 preplaced crypts for in-ground casket burials, 390 in-ground cremains plots and 840 columbarium niches to hold ashes, the news release said.
Without the expansion, the cemetery would have been full in about three years. The grant allows the cemetery to continue providing service for roughly 52,000 veterans and their families.
