CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery has completed a major expansion project, boosting its capacity and modernizing its facilities to better serve veterans and their families.
The announcement of the completed expansion comes on Memorial Day, a time when Americans honor those who died in military service, adding special significance to the milestone.
The cemetery spans 54 acres and now includes 3,100 pre-placed crypts for casket burials and 1,200 columbarium niches for cremated remains. The upgrades bring the total burial capacity to more than 12,000, enough to meet projected demand for the next decade.
“We need to make sure we have room for every single veteran and dependent who wants to come our way,” said Nueces County Veteran Services Officer JJ De La Cerda. “In order to do so, we had to expand the cemetery.”
About 600 veterans and their dependents are buried at the site each year, with a noticeable rise in Vietnam veteran burials in recent years.
“During the time Korean veterans were expected to be passing, Vietnam veterans were exceeding them,” De La Cerda said. “I think it's due to the Agent Orange exposure, the toxins they were exposed to. That's a big factor. We look at the trends, we look at what’s going on, who’s passing away, and then we adjust from there.”
The expansion project also included significant infrastructure improvements, such as upgraded landscaping, enhanced irrigation, road repairs, and a new automatic gate. The cemetery also became the first state or national veterans cemetery in Texas to officially recognize the U.S. Space Force as a military branch.
The project was funded through more than $9 million in federal grant money, along with an additional $144,000 from the Texas Veterans Land Board. Construction started in 2023, and officials are already looking toward future growth.
“We’re actually in negotiations with our local partners and are looking at gaining 100 acres,” De La Cerda said. “We have 54 right now, so we’re looking to establish 46 more so that we have 100 acres for the next 100 years.”
The cemetery is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. untilt September 30.
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Contact Veterans In Focus reporter Michelle Hofmann at michelle.lorenzo@kristv.com
