SC Alaska News

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery Administration has awarded up to $16.7 million to the State of Alaska for the creation of the Interior Alaska Veterans Cemetery in Fairbanks. This marks the first time Alaska will have a state-granted cemetery dedicated to veterans.

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has played a key role in this initiative. He and his team collaborated with both the Alaska veteran community and the VA over several years to secure funding for the project. In 2024, Senator Sullivan included provisions in a military construction appropriations bill report directing the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program to prioritize states like Alaska that had not previously received such cemeteries.

“Alaska is the proud home of the highest number of veterans per capita of any state in the country, a distinction I never tire of bragging about to my colleagues in the Senate,” Sen. Sullivan said. “Every American veteran—no matter where they live—deserves a peaceful final resting place of distinction and honor. With this significant grant from the VA, our courageous veterans will finally have a state-granted cemetery that appropriately commemorates their service and sacrifice, and enables them to be buried in the place they call home. It has been a privilege to work alongside the persistent, patriotic Alaska veterans in the Interior to realize this important milestone for our state.”

The VA specified that funds will support 351 pre-placed crypts, 600 columbarium niches, 279 cremains gravesites, administration and maintenance buildings, a committal service shelter, an entry monument and gates, a memorial wall and walk, a flag assembly area, necessary equipment for operation, roadways, landscaping features, site furnishings, stormwater management systems, and other related infrastructure. The department also plans to reimburse Alaska more than $813,000 for costs associated with burial receptacles required for this project.