AUSTIN — AUSTIN—Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to award the Texas General Land Office (GLO) a grant totaling up to $9.5 million for the establishment of a new Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Lubbock, Texas. The grant will be used to establish the cemetery including pre-placed crypts, columbarium niches, in ground cremated remain plots, irrigation, grading, drainage, landscaping, roads, administration buildings, maintenance yard, committal shelter and supporting infrastructure.
 
“Ensuring that Texas Veterans receive the best care and benefits the country has to offer is one of my top priorities as Land Commissioner and Chairwoman of the Texas Veterans Land Board,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “Our four, soon to be five, Texas State Veteran Cemeteries are a crucial part of what makes Veteran care in Texas truly exceptional. This grant will give us the opportunity to extend this vital service to over 21,540 Texas Veterans in the Lubbock community and beyond – including those who do not have next of kin. It is imperative that we offer these patriots, who bravely served our nation, a beautiful and dignified final resting place.”
 
The future Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Lubbock will be the first one constructed in 12 years. The last Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi was opened in 2011.