Federal grant will expand Georgia’s Milledgeville veterans cemetery

Georgia plans to develop an additional 15 acres of the state's war veterans cemetery in Milledgeville after receiving a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The expansion of the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery will add another 1,520 crypts and 320 columbarium niches for funeral urns, with grant money also expected to be used toward other improvements including landscaping and irrigation, according to the Georgia Department of Veterans Service.

The department dedicated the cemetery in 2001, after receiving the 142-acre property from the state forestry commission. It was last expanded in 2011, with 3,081 veterans, spouses and eligible dependents currently buried there.