VA funds Angel Fire veterans cemetery
Angel Fire is already known around the country by veterans of the Vietnam War thanks to the memorial on the edge of town, but an announcement of funding for a veterans cemetery means the Colfax County village is well on its way to being even more of a hub for veterans and their families.
Gov. Susan Martinez announced Tuesday (Sept.
18) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has formally approved funding to build the State Veterans Cemetery in Angel Fire.
The VA will provide a $3.2 million grant to cover the projected cost of building a
1.3-acre, 400-gravesite cemetery next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“We are extremely pleased,” said Chuck Howe, mayor pro tem of Angel Fire and president of the nonprofit behind the memorial and a Vietnam veteran.
“We started it about four years ago and have been going through the process since then. It’s important for New Mexico veterans and their families to have a cemetery close,” he said. The only federal veterans cemetery in New Mexico is located in Santa Fe.
Howe said several families of Vietnam veterans are holding on to the ashes of their loved ones specifically so they can be buried at the future cemetery in Angel Fire.
The Angel Fire cemetery will be the third state veterans cemetery coming out of the State Cemetery Initiative launched in 2013, which sought federal funding for the construction of state-run veterans cemeteries. The Fort Stanton State Veterans Cemetery opened in November
2017 and construction on the Gallup State Veterans Cemetery began that October, according to the governor’s office.
Taos County officials tried to get funding for a veterans cemetery in Taos although their application was not successful. Still, the county donated 20 acres of land near the end of County Road
110 for a veterans cemetery. There was a groundbreaking ceremony for that cemetery last year, and county crews have continued to do some work on the site since then.
Howe said a veterans wellness center is also in the works for Angel Fire and that a national fundraising campaign will soon be underway to raise the money for that project.