LITTLE ROCK - Governor Mike Beebe today received the deed for 99 acres of land in Cross County at Birdeye that will become the fifth veterans' cemetery in Arkansas, and the second operated by the State.

"This cemetery has long been needed for our veterans in East Arkansas,"
Beebe said. "This will make it easier for families and friends to pay their respects when we bestow the final honor upon those who have served our country."

"We strive not just to provide services to our veterans, but to do so in the most convenient way possible for them," Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs Director David Fletcher said. "East Arkansas needs this facility, especially with the advancing age of our vets."

The land was sold to the State by the family of Maurice Smith, a veteran and former director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, for $150,000. The cemetery will be established and operated by the State, but primary funding, including more than five-million dollars in construction costs, will still come from the federal government. The effort to obtain that funding as quickly as possible will be led by U.S. Representative Marion Berry and Arkansas's congressional delegation.

The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs will oversee a committee to select the design for the new cemetery and the United States Veterans Administration will have final approval. Depending on when federal funding is approved, the East Arkansas cemetery is anticipated to open in 2011. The site is expected to accommodate between 125 and 150 years of burials.

Currently, there are national veterans' cemeteries in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Fayetteville and a state veterans' cemetery in North Little Rock. Little Rock National Cemetery is full and no longer accepts burials.