Proud
Military Traditions Maintained
At Port
Hudson’s National Cemetery
By
Gabe Giffin
Established
in 1866, the large and very busy National Cemetery at Port Hudson is in the process
of acquiring new land to expand the 20-acre-site.
The cemetery currently houses more than 13,000
military interments.
Cemetery
Director Rex Kern said the cemetery has enough space for only about two more
years before there will be no more available plots for fallen soldiers and
veterans.
Currently
six or seven burials occur at Port Hudson National Cemetery each week.
“We
may have to close for a brief period of time,” said Kern. “Of course, we would
re-open once we found more land."
Acquiring
land for a national cemetery is a long process which literally involves an Act
of Congress. There is much planning and preparation that goes into the site
before any physical preparations can be done. "We're not here to impact
the environment,” said Kern.
“We're here
to blend in."
Access to Water
Along
with environmental factors, locations for national cemeteries are selected
based upon things such as accessibility, nearby neighborhoods, and water. Improved
access to water is something Kern would like to see for the new site.
Currently, Port Hudson gets its water from a well. “Being tapped into a city
water grid would help our grounds keepers with irrigation and cleaning,” he
explained.
Mark Loser, crew member, feels tremendous pride in caring for the grounds at the National Cemetery.
It
is interesting to note that there is extra land next to Port Hudson but it
cannot be used for burial purposes. The land surrounding most of the cemetery
falls under the National Historic Landmark Program which commemorates the siege
of Port Hudson during the Civil War.
On
July 27, 2010, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs granted conceptual approval to
acquire expansion land.
Environmental Assessment
Lana
Shuman of the Dallas Regional Office of Public Affairs said there are contracts
that have been let for an environmental assessment, real estate appraisal,
boundary survey and title search of the property the national cemetery is
attempting to acquire. There is also a Phase I Cultural Resources Survey and
Wetland Delineation Verification in progress.
Meanwhile,
as the assessment is underway, a master plan for the area is being developed.
Construction of a fast-track phase will
begin as soon as the land is acquired.
Right
now the cemetery averages 350-360 burials each year, most of the veterans and
soldiers are from the Greater Baton Rouge area.
With
lush green fields, dotted with the tombstones of soldiers from wars past and
present it is hard not to be taken aback when turning the corner and arriving
at the cemetery. The lives of so many who evidenced dedication to our proud
nation are clearly represented by the long straight lines of white
markers.
The grounds crew is made up of
nearly all veterans with a very special dedication to the job of keeping the
place beautifully attended.
Grounds
crew member and veteran Mark Loser said "It's an honor to be the last to
have any dealings with a veteran." The pride he feels and the pride of all
of the hard working folks
who maintain
the Port Hudson National Cemetery can be seen clearly by visitors seven days
each week from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The
cemetery is located just off Hwy. 61 just west of Zachary.