The Department of Veterans Affairs will begin constructing a new national cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2025.
The cemetery will be named Albuquerque National Cemetery and will be the third national cemetery in the state.
“Albuquerque National Cemetery will serve nearly 78,000 veterans,” Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald Walters said in a statement “We are pleased to extend access to VA burial benefits for veterans in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area and provide them with a final resting place in honor of their service to the nation.”
The new cemetery’s name was selected after VA solicited input from local veterans and community leaders and is consistent with the requirements mandating VA property be named for the geographic area in which the facility is located.
VA purchased the 230 acres of land adjacent to the Petroglyph National Monument, due west of Albuquerque, in March 2023 for $2,840,706. When complete, the new cemetery will offer options for casketed and cremation burials.
Consistent with the surrounding desert environment, the cemetery will be designed and built with water-wise landscaping, including finely crushed granite as ground cover in the burial sections. Similar landscaping can be found at VA’s national cemeteries in El Paso, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona and Bakersfield, California.
VA operates 155 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites nationwide. Over 5.4 million people — including 4.1 million veterans of every war and conflict — are buried in VA national cemeteries.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.