WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) announced a $4,145,539 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs grant for the expansion of the Rocky Gap State Veterans Cemetery in Flintstone, Maryland. The expansion of the cemetery will help lay to rest additional men and women who have served in our armed forces, impacting 37,000 veterans and their families.

“Rocky Gap State Veterans Cemetery is a place of peace and reflection for our state’s fallen heroes. These funds will help keep it a sacred place of honor for our veterans and their families,” said Senator Cardin, Ranking Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Veterans and their families sacrifice greatly for our nation, and they are owed a final resting place of honor,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees. “We will never repay the debt of gratitude we owe these men and women, but this investment will help give their families peace in the darkest of times.”

The grant will fund the construction of 522 pre-placed crypts, 100 standard gravesites, 600 columbarium niches, 200 in-ground cremains gravesites, storage buildings, an expanded administration building, irrigation, landscaping, and supporting infrastructure. In all, the project will develop six acres, adding to the current 26-acre footprint on Pleasant Valley Road.