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Sarasota National Cemetery
By Tracy Eisnaugle
Photography by Chad Spencer
Mission: The National Cemetery Administration honors Veterans with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service to our nation.
As we come to the end of a historic year there is one thing that is for certain, we can look back with pride and compassion for the honorable and courageous men and women who have fought for our safety and our freedoms. After an in-depth study by Congress Sarasota was selected out of twenty-two possible locations to be the new site for a National Cemetery, Sarasota is one of only seven counties in the state of Florida to have the privilege of being home to a National Veterans Cemetery.
[2]Located approximated four miles east of I75 on Clark Road resides the 295-acre cemetery site. This new facility will serve Veterans’ needs for the next fifty years for an estimated 300,000 Veterans in southwest Florida. This pastoral site is an expansive piece of serene farmland that was purchased by the National Cemetery Administration in 2007 from the Hawkins Ranch. The Sarasota National Cemetery was formally dedicated on June 1, 2008 and interments began in January of 2009. Construction and land development is planned in stages with Phase I consisting of approximately 80 acres. The first phase will include facilities necessary to maintain, operate, and provide burials for approximately the next ten years, providing the community with nearly 15,200 full casket gravesites, including 14,800 pre-placed crypts, 8,600 in-ground cremains and approximately 7,000 columbarium niches. The permanent customer and administrative building will begin construction early 2010 with an expected eighteen month construction plan.
[3]The Sarasota National Cemetery opened on January 9th, 2009. Currently close to fifteen acres of land in the first phase has been developed with 1,300 burials in the last ten months. The facility is open seven days a week with burial and interment services available Monday thru Friday. Services are arranged and handled on site by a compassionate staff willing and able to accommodate the final wishes of our Veterans. Any active duty, honorably discharged veterans or retired reservists, their spouses and certain dependent children are eligible for burial at no cost, specific information is available on www.va.gov [4] or by calling the cemetery office at 941-922-7200.
The Department of Defense provides military honors when requested by the family. Engraving of headstones is also completed onsite. Veterans’ and their families are granted a memorable ceremony with utmost respect and dignity for those brave men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country.
Sarasota National Cemetery
9810 State Road 72
Sarasota FL 34241
941-922-7200
877.861.9840
www.cem.va.gov [5]
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