Spanish Fort veterans cemetery develops

SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WALA) - Almost 50 years have passed since south Alabama had a veterans' cemetery with room to bury its own lost servicemen and women.

Officials said that is scheduled to change in spring 2013, when Alabama’s first State Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort is expected to be completed.

The State Veterans' Affairs Board approved plans for the new cemetery in 2009 and by October of 2011, the project was underway.

“This is a cemetery for those who served our nation, and it will be cared for. It will never be anything other than the wonderful hallowed ground we have now,” said Vietnam veteran Barry Booth.

“According to our timeline, we’re just over halfway through our project. So we’re pretty excited about it,” said Sandy Speakman with Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs.

Booth said there is a national cemetery in Mobile. However, it ran out of room back in the 60s. Now, veterans like Booth are watching the 103-acre lot develop and, with it, the promise of a place to be memorialized close to home.

“We haven’t finalized the eligibility requirements. We hope to have that information by October or November so we can start getting it out to veterans and their families,” Speakman said.

The ADVA said the life of the cemetery will be approximately 100 years, and it plans on expanding the cemetery every 10 years.