The Village of Angel Fire now has the state’s third veterans cemetery. Courtesy/wikipedia

From the Office of the Governor:

ANGEL FIRE — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez dedicated the new $3.2 million Veterans Cemetery Friday in Angel Fire. The cemetery is the third cemetery constructed under Governor Martinez for veterans who live in rural areas throughout the state.

“We dedicate this new cemetery to honor all who have served in uniform,” Martinez said. “New Mexicans have always stood ready to defend our state and nation in the U.S. Armed Forces, and they deserve a final resting place that is close to home.”

The new cemetery will serve veterans and their families in northern New Mexico who live too far from the state’s two Veterans Affairs national cemeteries: The Santa Fe National Cemetery, about two hours south, and the Ft. Bayard National Cemetery more than six hours away in the southwestern part of the state.

The federal grant funding to establish the cemetery in Angel Fire followed the $600,000 in initial funding Governor Martinez secured in the 2014 capital outplay bill to plan, design and construct local veterans cemeteries in Angel Fire, Carlsbad, Fort Stanton and Gallup. The dedication took place in the meadow below the southwest side of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Ft. Stanton State Veterans Cemetery in southeast New Mexico – the state’s first veteran’s cemetery launched through the Governor’s initiative – opened last November. The second cemetery, in Gallup, is set to open next spring. The fourth state veteran’s cemetery in Carlsbad is in the pre-construction phase.

The Angel Fire State Veterans Cemetery will serve more than 15,700 veterans in the northern part of the state. The 1.3-acre cemetery will feature 100 in-ground crypts, 120 in-ground cremains gravesites, 400 columbarium niches, and a memorial wall—in a beautifully landscaped setting in accordance with existing standards set by the VA for its 136 national cemeteries. There is ample surrounding acreage for future expansion.