MISSOURI HOUSE TO DEBATE BILL ADDING VETS CEMETERIES

A bill intended to honor veterans by establishing a system of state veterans' cemeteries is headed for debate in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Under the bill, approved by committee and to be considered by the full House this month, cemeteries would be placed in eight geographic regions of the state.

The legislation was drafted by Rep. Jim Montgomery, D-Cabool, chairman of the House Federal-State Relations and Veterans' Affairs Committee.

"We have a lot of World War II veterans passing on as well as Korean War veterans, and it won't be long before that starts happening to Vietnam veterans," said Montgomery, who served in the Army during the 1960s.

Of the three federal veterans' cemeteries in Missouri, two are already filled. The third, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, is nearing capacity.

The state does not operate any open veterans' cemeteries, but Bob Buckner, executive director of the Missouri Veterans' Commission, said there is a need, especially since the federal government has no plans for additional cemeteries in the state.

Montgomery is working in the legislature to secure $140,000 for the planning the project. Each project is anticipated to cost about $2.4 million to provide "first-class" cemeteries, he said. Each cemetery would be between 50 and 80 acres.

"These individuals have served their countries, and it seems to me they are owed some perks," Montgomery said of veterans.

Half of the funding would come from the state and the rest from a matching federal grant. A $1 admission charge levied on customers of gaming boats would provide the state's portion. That charge previously went to build several state veterans' homes -- including one in Cape Girardeau -- and would be shifted to the cemetery project.

"The state has raised a considerable amount of money through this and it is one way to benefit veterans," Montgomery said.

In choosing sites, Montgomery looked at a state map and picked locations that would provide reasonable access for veterans and their families from all regions of the state. Those locations are Bloomfield in Southeast Missouri, Cabool in the Ozarks, Gallatin in Northwest Missouri, Higginsville near Kansas City, Jefferson City in Central Missouri, Macon in Northeast Missouri, St. Louis County, and Springfield in Southwest Missouri.

Rep. Marilyn Taylor Williams, D-Dudley, represents Bloomfield and supports the bill. Although no specific pieces of land have been discussed, Williams said a group working to build a proposed Stars and Stripes newspaper museum in Bloomfield hopes to tie the two projects together. The military newspaper was first published in Bloomfield by Union forces who liberated the town from Confederate control during the Civil War.

"It is a very fitting place for one of the sites," Williams said. "It is the birthplace of Stars and Stripes ... and it is pretty centrally located for the Southeast Missouri region."

While supportive of any measure to create veterans' cemeteries, Buckner said the Veterans' Commission would prefer putting the funding mechanism in place first before naming sites. Since formal proposals have been neither solicited nor submitted, not all of the towns mentioned may even be interested in the project, he said. Also, other areas not named may prove superior choices.

"All we are saying is instead of specifying exact sites at this time, we should put a framework in motion to provide funding and let us evaluate proposals for communities," Buckner said.

The commission, which has suggested only four cemeteries, prefers placing them in areas with high concentrations of veterans rather then scattering them around the state.

Montgomery said all veterans deserve easy access, regardless of where they live. However, he said changes are possible if a site proves problematic.