Legislature Approves Veterans' Cemetery In Spanish Fort

If the bill is signed by Gov. Riley, a state-run cemetery would open across from Historic Blakeley State Park. The veterans cemetery in Mobile has been closed to all but family members of veterans since the 1960s.

By: Jamie Burch | WKRG-TV
Published: May 14, 2009

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Legislature has approved a
bill to allow construction of a veterans' cemetery in Spanish Fort.

The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to give the bill final
approval and sent it to the governor. The legislation by Republican
Rep. Randy Davis of Daphne would authorize the state Department of
Veterans' Affairs to open a state-run cemetery across from Historic
Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort.

The cemetery will serve the some 71,000 Veterans in the area over the next 20 years.

"I salute the Alabama Legislature for upholding President Lincoln's promise to care for “…him, who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan,'" said Clyde Marsh, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.

The U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs has a veterans cemetery
in Mobile, but it has been closed to all but family members of
veterans since the 1960s.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)