By Brian Livingston / blivingston@themeridianstar.com
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — A new law gives the State Veterans Affairs Board (SVAB) authorization to establish a Mississippi Persian Gulf War Memorial.
Signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour Monday, HB 1379 authorizes the Department of Finance and Administration to transfer to the State Veterans Affairs Board property located at the Mississippi State University Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Newton County for use as an addition to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
Randy Reeves, deputy director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, said the bill was introduced and championed by State Rep. Johnny Stringer in the House and State Sen. Terry Burton in the Senate. He said the bill was unanimously supported in the House and Senate to honor Mississippi veterans who have paid the ultimate sacrifice during the current war.
"America sometimes has a short memory of the sacrifices our young men and women in uniform make for us," said Reeves. "The mothers, fathers and families will never forget. Because of the efforts of Representative Johnny Stringer, Senator Terry Burton and our Legislature, Mississippi will forever remember these heroes."
To date, Reeves said 61 Mississippians have died as a result of their service in the Persian Gulf War including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). The official service dates, which will be covered in the memorial, will be from August 1990 to a date yet to be determined.
Burton said Tuesday this bill was enacted so that when the current war has ended the state can move forward in getting the memorial constructed. No design or funding requirements have been decided upon as yet.
"There is no end date because naturally we are still fighting the war on terror," said Burton in between legislative sessions at the capitol. "But we thought this was fitting to give these men and women a memorial because this current conflict has been costly for the state of Mississippi."
The Mississippi Veterans Cemetery will be constructed on 75 rolling acres between Newton and Hickory, 20 miles west of Meridian. The facility, which will provide a final resting place for Mississippi veterans, will provide 3,000 standard burial plots, 1,000 pre-placed crypts and 576 columbarium niches along with administrative offices, a committal service shelter, memorial walkways and maintenance support structures. First interments are scheduled for the spring of 2011. The land was donated by Mississippi State University.
The Legislature provided $700,000 for planning and development. Construction and outfitting of the cemetery will be paid for with a $6.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Cemetery Grants Program. Once completed, expected in the spring of 2011, the cemetery will be maintained and operated by the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board.
Reeves said the cemetery, called the "Arlington of the South," and now the Mississippi Persian Gulf War Memorial, will be monuments to honor the Mississippi men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation.
