Hills of Georgia is the new home of national cemetery
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Soon 775 secluded acres in rural Cherokee County, north of Atlanta, will overflow with hard-fought memories from battles long past like Iwo Jima, Inchon and Danang, and eventually from recent ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new Georgia National Cemetery will accept its first burials on April 24, becoming sacred grounds and a lasting tribute to those veterans who served their country in times of her greatest need. |
On land donated by the late World War II veteran and Atlanta developer Scott Hudgens, the cemetery joins 122 others run by the National Cemetery Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The national cemetery program dates back to the height of the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation in 1862 recognizing that national cemeteries were needed ‘‘…for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country.’’ In 1873, the program was expanded to include all honorably discharged veterans. It provides the gravesite (including a concrete graveliner for caskets), headstone and perpetual care of the grave. It also opens and closes the gravesite and provides the veteran’s family a memorial certificate and U.S. flag.
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