A record $106.5 million in veterans cemetery grants will establish eight burial grounds and expand or maintain 13 others, extending a national effort to give military families access to a final resting place closer to home.
The fiscal year 2026 awards reach 21 cemeteries across states, territories and tribal nations. They will support new construction, additional burial capacity and the continuing care of established grounds, addressing both the need for future interments and the responsibility of maintaining places where veterans are already buried.
The investment is the largest single-year funding commitment in the Veterans Cemetery Grant Program’s 46-year history. Since the program began in 1980, the Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded more than $1.2 billion to more than 120 cemeteries in 47 states, 14 tribal nations and three territories, Guam, Saipan and Puerto Rico.
That network helps ensure more than 94 percent of veterans living in the United States have access to a veterans cemetery within 75 miles of their homes. For military families, proximity carries practical and personal consequences, affecting travel for burial services and the ability to return to a loved one’s grave.
The largest grants this year will establish cemeteries in communities across the South and West, while new burial grounds on Rota and Tinian will extend services within the Northern Mariana Islands.
Alabama Veterans Memorial Cemetery-North in Huntsville received the largest individual award, $18,094,445 for its establishment. An additional reimbursement of up to $875,706 will cover the fabrication and delivery of pre-placed crypts. Elsewhere in Alabama, a $283,200 expansion grant will add capacity at the existing state veterans cemetery in Spanish Fort.
New cemetery construction also accounts for major investments in New Mexico, Utah and Georgia. Carlsbad State Veterans Cemetery received $16,711,624, Northern Utah Veterans Cemetery in Washington Terrace received $14,740,955, and Georgia Memorial Veterans Cemetery at Augusta received $13,610,908.
Each of those projects also includes a separate commitment for crypt fabrication and delivery, up to $625,670 for Carlsbad, $920,700 for Washington Terrace and $2,155,262 for Augusta.
Together, the projects will broaden the geographic reach of veterans burial services while establishing grounds that will require continuing care beyond their initial construction.
Tennessee received $7,073,800 to establish Upper Cumberland Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery. In Cherokee, North Carolina, $3,739,379 will support the establishment of Burgess-Oocumma Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
The island projects bring another dimension to the year’s investment. Rota Veterans Cemetery received $3,506,037, and Tinian Veterans Cemetery received $3,110,550. Each project also includes up to $269,300 in reimbursement for pre-placed crypts, supporting the development of burial grounds within those island communities.
“Every VA cemetery grant reflects our commitment to honor the lives of those who served our nation,” said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Sam Brown.
At existing cemeteries, expansion awards will create additional burial capacity across a broad stretch of the country. The funding reaches facilities in Arizona, Connecticut, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Missouri State Veterans Cemetery at Springfield received $4,591,546 for expansion, with up to $1,472,850 in additional reimbursement for crypt fabrication and delivery. Southern Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista received $3,109,391 to expand its grounds.
North Carolina’s investment includes work at two established facilities in addition to the new cemetery in Cherokee. Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Goldsboro received $2,613,394 for expansion, along with up to $2,878 for crypt reimbursement. Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain received $1,457,620.
The awards address burial capacity at separate locations within the state, supporting continued service to families in both eastern and western North Carolina.
Utah likewise received funding for both a new cemetery and an existing one. Alongside the Washington Terrace project, Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park in Bluffdale received $1,911,000 for expansion.
In the Midwest, Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel received $1,358,525, and Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spooner received $1,208,114. The Wisconsin project also includes up to $330,000 for pre-placed crypts.
South Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Sioux Falls received $963,433. Expansion funding also includes $584,250 for Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown and $243,467 for Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin.
Two other awards focus on the operation and maintenance of existing cemeteries. East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery-2 in Hilo received $6,132,225, while Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake received $1,504,104.
Those projects support the ongoing care of burial grounds, a continuing obligation alongside the construction and expansion work funded elsewhere. The grant program covers improvements needed to maintain interments as well as projects supporting cemetery operations and maintenance.
Across the 21 locations, the awards connect new construction with the long-term needs of established cemeteries. Additional burial space will allow facilities to continue accepting veterans, while maintenance funding supports the grounds families return to after funeral services have ended.