Lovely ladies and tasty funnel cakes.

Thank you to Cindy VanBibber, Omaha National Cemetery Director, for the interview.

 

Please tell us about the National Cemetery program:

Who is eligible?

Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Their spouse, widow or widower, minor children, and, under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities, may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the veteran. Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or while performing training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.

What is the process?

At the time of need, a funeral director or the next of kin should contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office. Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117. It is important to have all eligibility documentation available prior to calling the Scheduling Office.

If you have no eligibility documentation, Scheduling Office agents will assist you with the verification process. Requests for eligibility determination when no military discharge documents are available may require 48 hours or more for verification. Scheduling Office personnel will contact you within 48 hours of the initial process with verification results or an explanation of the delay.

The same procedures should be followed to determine the eligibility of a  veteran’s spouse or dependent. In most cases, one gravesite is provided for the burial of all eligible family members, marked by a single headstone or marker. When both spouses are  veterans, two adjacent gravesites and two headstones or markers may be provided, if requested.

Please explain the types of interments available.

When the cemetery opens in September 2016, we will have the availability for casket interments as well as in-ground inurnment of cremated remains.

In the fall of 2017, additional options for cremation placement will include the columbaria and ossuary. At that time, we will also have a Memorial Wall, where inscriptions can be placed for those who have eligible loved ones whose remains are non-recoverable.  Examples would be those who are buried at sea or have their cremated remains scattered.

How may families decorate the graves of their loved ones?

Floral regulations will be similar to the following:

Fresh-cut flowers are welcomed and encouraged to be placed on graves all year round. Once the blooms are spent, they will be removed. Temporary flower containers are available in designated bins. Permanent plantings are not permitted on graves. Potted plants are only allowed one week prior to and one week after Easter and Memorial Day.

Christmas wreaths, potted plants and floral grave blankets are permitted on graves from December 15 through January 15. Arrangements may not be more than 24″ high. Cemetery trees, shrubs and/or any other plants may not be decorated with any ornaments of any kind at any time.

Commemorative items, balloons, pinwheels, glass items, stuffed animals, etc., are not allowed. Any item that violates the intent of the floral regulations, compromises the dignity of the cemetery, or is a threat to safety will be removed.

No item or object may be attached to the headstone, marker or niche cover. No item may stand taller than the headstone

Please tell us about the new 236-acre cemetery.

The new 236-acre cemetery in Sarpy County Nebraska will serve the burial needs of more than 112,000 veterans in the cemetery’s service area for the next 100 years. This cemetery will be the second Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery in the State of Nebraska.

Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell, Nebraska, is the only other VA national cemetery in the state. The closest national cemetery to Omaha is Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas. There are two state-run veterans’ cemeteries in Nebraska: the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Alliance and the Nebraska Veterans Home Cemetery in Grand Island.

In December 2012, VA purchased the land located along South 144th St. (Highway 50), at 14250 Schram Road, for $6 million. The property is located in Sarpy County. In August 2013, VA awarded an architect and engineering contract to Vireo Planning & Design of Omaha, for the master plan design of the cemetery, which was completed in June 2014. In September 2014, VA awarded a design/build contract to Archer Western Construction, LLC, located in Chicago, Illinois, for $28.9 million. Scheduled for completion in the fall of 2017, this project includes the development of approximately 1,800 columbarium niches, 1,200 in-ground, garden niches and 2,500 pre-placed double-depth crypts. Once cemetery construction gets underway, VA will hold a public dedication ceremony. The first burials are expected to begin in the fall of 2016 in an early turn-over of a portion of property while construction still continues in the cemetery.

How was the site selected?

As part of VA’s FY2011 budget request, Congress approved NCA’s proposal to lower the minimum veteran population threshold required to establish a new national cemetery from 170,000 (established in 2002) to 80,000 unserved veterans within a 75-mile service area.  Once that occurred, the Omaha metropolitan area was identified as a location for a new national cemetery. The VA subsequently placed public advertisements seeking public responses for available land parcels of 200+ acres. After receiving all public responses, VA evaluated and assessed all of the different sites in the Omaha metropolitan area, using criteria to include, but not limited to: character and suitability of the land, site adjacencies to the land, environmental, architectural, and engineering constraints; access to major public roads; and an infrastructure which a community can support. After reviewing all of the sites, the Sarpy County property was determined by VA to be the most suitable location for development of a new national cemetery.

Please explain the name of the cemetery, Omaha National Cemetery, with respect to its location in Sarpy County.

Omaha National Cemetery’s name selection is consistent with Public Law 105-368 (codified at 38 U.S.C. § 531), in that a VA facility, structure, or real property cannot be named for anything other than the geographic area in which it is located, unless Congress passes a specific law to that effect. VA relies on local veterans and community leaders to submit name suggestions during the naming process.  Suggestions are evaluated based on naming guidelines and the top three are submitted to the Secretary of VA for approval.

Names for new national cemeteries will be based on the following criteria:

(1) The name helps identify the location of the cemetery site;
(2) The name has broad appeal to the veteran population; and
(3) The name provides a positive impression through its relation to history, region, community, or other notable geographic features (lake, river, mountain, etc.)

In late 2013, NCA contacted all regional and local Veterans Service Organization and military groups by sending out requests for naming suggestions to eighty-two (82) regional groups in the area, and then over the course of the following months received and compiled name suggestion responses from those groups.  NCA also chaired a town hall meeting with forty-five (45) commanders of those groups in January 2014.  The name “Omaha National Cemetery” received strong support from those groups, and helps identify a location known throughout Nebraska, Iowa, other neighboring states, and beyond.

Please explain the decision to change the location from Bellevue (near Eastern  Nebraska Veterans’ Home) to Highway 50 and Schram Rd.

As the highest-rated property that was evaluated and assessed, the Sarpy County location was the first and only selection for this new national cemetery. Bellevue, or any of the other sites, was never the first choice. The location of the new national cemetery at Highway 50 and Schram Road meets the required criteria best.

What are the different phases of development?

The initial phase of construction will develop approximately 60 acres of land, providing for approximately 5,000 gravesites and accommodating both casketed and cremated remains. In addition to gravesites, the cemetery will include other features such as a front entrance on Schram Road, an administration building, a maintenance building, an honor guard building, a flagpole assembly area, a memorial walkway, committal shelters, and a public information center with an electronic gravesite locator, and restrooms. Other cemetery infrastructure features will include roads, landscaping, utilities, and irrigation.

Additional phases of construction will take place as the interment rate dictates.

Please tell us about the ceremony on 5 August at SumTur Amphitheater in Papillion.

A public dedication ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the SumTur Amphitheater.

For more information and updates, where should people go on and offline to learn more?

The website for the National Cemetery Administration is: www.cem.va.gov. The phone number to the cemetery is (402) 413-9121.

Just a friendly copyright reminder that all our images, text and content is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. If you wish to use an image or any other content please email (info@papillionbusinesses.com) or call us (402.932.7243) for instructions and permission requirements.

If you like our content, feel free to use the share links.

If you want to use them for your own site or social media, ask us for permission to do so legally and do not steal.