Cemetery dedicated to veterans of Southwest Louisiana

JENNINGS, La. - A ribbon cutting was held for the new Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Jefferson Davis Parish.

It will be final resting place for more than 1,700 veterans and their families. The cemetery opened on March 23 and is located on 10 acres of land, with another 10 acres to expand, according to Governor John Bel Edwards.

It's the only place in the state where the veteran's home and cemetery are located on same piece of property.

"We have more people who are serving in uniform either active duty, reserve, National Guard or veterans than any other state in the nation," said Edwards. "That's how I define patriotism, and so it's right that we make these efforts to have these cemeteries to serve the patriots, those people who have served us. These veterans get a lot of piece of mind knowing that there's a great resting place for them and their families in close proximity to where they live. And so we believe that opening this cemetery on March 23rd will allow that piece of mind for many veterans across southwest Louisiana."

The memorial took several years to complete and Governor Edwards was happy to see that veterans were proud of the event.

"You see by all the veterans services here today, the individual veterans, how much this means to them, to be able to be a part of it, to see the work over the last several years come to fruition, I wouldn't want to miss this," said Governor Edwards.