VLB Partners with Nueces County to Manage Texas State Veterans Cemetery

  • Oct 6, 2021
Contact Matt Atwood, Press Secretary - Texas General Land Office
matthew.atwood@glo.texas.gov
Beginning this month, Nueces County assumed the day-to-day management of the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery. In 2019, the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) and Nueces County began talks on a potential partnership in which the County would serve as the primary entity responsible for maintenance and care of the cemetery. The terms of this agreement were finalized this past summer and entered into effect on October 1, 2021. The cemetery remains under VLB ownership.   

“The VLB is proud to partner with Nueces County to manage the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery,” said  VLB Chairman George P. Bush . “I thank Judge Canales and Coastal Bend leadership for their tremendous efforts to make this agreement a reality. Working together, we will ensure that these sacred grounds are treated with the utmost care and with the respect befitting those who have served and sacrificed for our state and country.”

“Nueces County will continue to provide the dignified burial services and meticulous cemetery maintenance deserved by our veterans,” said  Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.  “The VLB has worked with Nueces County to ensure a seamless transition of the day-to-day operation to local control.”

The Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery, located at 9974 IH 37 Access Road, Corpus Christi, Texas, first opened on December 14, 2011. It is the fourth Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Texas. The current size of the cemetery is 54 acres with up to 31,500 burial plots.  Texas State Veterans Cemeteries are built through a partnership of the State of Texas and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The County will be responsible for maintaining the buildings, grounds, and equipment of the Veterans Cemetery, including performing all routine and preventative maintenance. The County will also ensure that the grounds and landscape are kept in excellent condition. All eligibility rules remain the same for burials.

Any member of the United States Armed Forces who dies while on active duty or any Veteran who was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable may be eligible for burial in a national or state Veterans cemetery. For more information, Veterans and families can visit:  https://vlb.texas.gov/cemeteries/index.html