Marr calls for state veterans cemetery for Spokane region

OLYMPIA – For years, military veterans have been asking for a veterans cemetery in Eastern Washington. If Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, has his way, that request is about to be answered.

“We have nearly 140,000 veterans and their families living in Eastern Washington, including 53,000 in Spokane County alone, who have been denied the same benefit their counterparts in Western Washington enjoy,” Marr said. “Our veterans deserve equal treatment on both sides of the Cascades.”

Marr’s bill (Senate Bill 5058) would create a state veterans cemetery in the Spokane area comparable to Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. Although Kent’s is a national cemetery, the veteran population in the Spokane area is too small to meet federal requirements for a federal cemetery of their own, so Marr feels the state should step in.

“The beauty of this is, even though it’s a state cemetery, it’s mostly paid for by federal funds,” he said. “Washington will incur a fraction of the cost.”

The federal Veterans Association (VA) provides grants to build veterans cemeteries within 100 miles of major metropolitan areas. Except for $450,000 to purchase land, all capital funds would be reimbursed by the federal VA.. The cemetery would be maintained through a combination of state, federal and local funds, including proceeds from the sale of Armed Forces License Plates.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has included $7.8 million in her 2007-09 capital budget plus an additional $926,000 in her operating budget to fund such a cemetery, and the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs is considering two possible sites: McFarland Road near Fairchild Air Force Base, and Salnave Road off Interstate 90 near Medical Lake.

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