Carlsbad Veterans Cemetery prep is complete, now waiting begins

Aug. 01--CARLSBAD -- The groundwork has been laid both literally and figuratively for the Carlsbad Veterans Cemetery, and now everyone must wait.

The 4 1/2 acres of land set aside for the creation of a national veterans cemetery at Sunset Gardens has been prepped for construction and handed over to the state of New Mexico, according to Adon Rodriguez, the chairman of the Carlsbad Veterans Cemetery Board.

Federal inspectors plan to assess the land in either late October or December to see if the soil and other factors meet federal requirements to be christened a national cemetery by the Veterans Administration.

Until then, work cannot continue on the cemetery that locals first began planning and preparing more than four years ago.

"We're shovel ready," Rodriguez said. "We will start building once we receive the fed's OK."

VA inspectors will test the burial conditions on the land in Carlsbad by burying two coffins underground and then inspecting the coffins three days later to see if there are any unforeseen reactions, Rodriguez said.

He said he is confident the Carlsbad Veterans Cemetery will pass the test and be approved by the VA, and he is excited to get back to work on the project.

"We want to make it better than Arlington and El Paso, better than any of them and we want to be proud," he said. "It's time we recognize our veterans. It's sad we can't give them the honor of burying them at home and give their families closure. I don't want to send our troops away a second time."

The city of Carlsbad donated the land inside of Sunset Gardens Memorial Park to be used for the Veterans Cemetery. Currently, city architects are preparing sketches and plans for the final resting place for deceased military members.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill into law in April authorizing the state to spend a total of $600,000 to design and construct regional veterans' cemeteries statewide. The funding serves as a down payment for the projects and once the cemeteries are inspected and approved by the VA, the federal government will repay the state the money to be used for maintenance.

Many families of veterans around Carlsbad have clamored for a cemetery of their own because the nearest veterans' cemeteries are located at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, Fort Bayard National Cemetery near Silver City and Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso.

According to the VA, more than half of New Mexico's 170,000 veterans live too far from the two existing national cemeteries in the state.

Reporter Zack Ponce can be reached at (575) 689-7402.

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