Lawmakers urge funding of new Riley cemetery

[unhappycamper]

Lawmakers urge funding of new Riley cemetery
By Sam Hananel - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 21, 2007 6:26:03 EDT

The Fort Riley cemetery has officially run out of space and Kansas lawmakers are urging the Veterans Affairs Department not to delay funds for a new cemetery.

Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, both Republicans, asked VA officials Thursday to make money available for the new veterans cemetery before the end of the year.

“While a new cemetery would not be completed in time to alleviate this situation immediately, it is vitally important,” Roberts and Brownback said in their letter to William Tuerk, VA’s undersecretary for memorial affairs.

~snip~

“We have our budget and unless there’s unexpected circumstances involving any sort of emergencies for other closing cemeteries, the priorities wouldn’t change,” Schuda said.

There is no room to expand the existing cemetery, which is flanked on two sides by roads, with housing and other buildings nearby. Twenty-two burial plots that were reserved before 1975 will be honored, said Fort Riley spokeswoman Alison Kohler.

The last two unreserved plots at Fort Riley’s cemetery were taken this week. Sgt. Joel Murray, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., was buried in the cemetery Monday. He died Sept. 4 in Baghdad of wounds sustained during combat operations.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/ap_rileycemetery_070921/

[AndyA]

1. Yes, by all means let's make this a priority.

We've got to have more ground to bury the dead soldiers, at the rate they're dying in Iraq, we'll be needing it.

This is pathetic. Stop the war, bring the troops home. We won't need as much space quite so soon.