Omaha veteran cemetery will add new spaces for graves, niches

Omaha National Cemetery plans to build more than 6,000 new gravesites in 2023, the first major expansion since the Department of Veterans Affairs opened the cemetery six years ago.

The project, called Phase 2, will add a large section with 2,500 spaces for casketed burials, said Jason Dolan, the cemetery’s director, along with 3,720 spaces for cremated remains.

Though plenty of empty land remains, Omaha National Cemetery has been filling up faster than expected. Before it opened in September 2016, planners anticipated about 500 burials per year.

But already, 4,200 people have been buried there, more than 700 per year. Last year’s total of 870 was even higher, in part because of ceremonies deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When funding became available, the VA decided to go ahead with construction a couple of years ahead of schedule, Dolan said. But he expects the 236-acre cemetery will continue to accommodate veteran burials for decades into the future.

“We are not in any danger of running out of space,” he said.

The new area for casketed burials, called Section 10, is in the southeast quadrant of the central section that is surrounded by the circular main road.

The new columbarium wall for cremated remains will be west of the central flagpole, next to an existing one. A section for in-ground cremated remains, Section 13, will be along a new cul-de-sac northwest of the circular lane.

The Phase 2 construction has been put out for a bid, Dolan said. Construction is likely to start in the late fall or early next spring.

He said the VA declined to release the budget for the project to avoid tipping their hand to potential bidders.

Before the cemetery’s opening, the state’s only national cemetery was Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell, Nebraska, 267 miles west of Omaha.

Local veterans spent more than a decade lobbying for a VA cemetery in Sarpy County. But the Omaha area didn’t meet veteran population requirements in place at the time. In 2009, then-Rep. Lee Terry, who represented the area, championed legislation to lower the requirement.

In 2012, the VA purchased the 236-acre site, at State Highway 50 and Schram Road in western Sarpy County, for $6.2 million.

The first phase, with a price tag of $28.9 million, included roads, buildings and other infrastructure, along with 5,000 burial sites.

Dolan said the VA plans to expand Fort McPherson National Cemetery, which dates to 1873. He said 17 acres are being purchased adjacent to the existing 20 acres — enough to last another 100 years, according to VA forecasts.

The Omaha cemetery is supported by a cadre of veteran volunteers who staff a welcome desk in the administrative headquarters, place flags on special holidays and raise money for items not covered by the VA budget.

“People are pleased it’s here. That’s their reason: It’s beautiful,” said Victor Jones, an officer of the Omaha National Cemetery Support Committee.

“They feel so comfortable, because it’s so peaceful,” added Sharon Bissen, the cemetery’s volunteer coordinator.