Phased Re-Opening of KDVA State Veterans Cemeteries
UPDATE: In accordance with the new statewide mask mandate
from Governor Andy Beshear, all visitors to Kentucky Veterans Cemeteries MUST
wear face masks while on cemetery property unless they remain in their
cars. Thank you for your cooperation.
NOTE: Guidance is changing on a daily bases, so it is best
to call your State Veterans Cemetery for the current and most up-to-date information.
On June 1, KDVA began a phased re-opening of our five State Veterans Cemeteries.
Those include:
- The Administration Building will be open to visitors only to the extent they can maintain six-feet social distancing.
- Directors will provide masks for all employees and offer masks to all visitors.
- Hand sanitizers will be provided at the entrance to the
Administration Building. All staff and visitors must use hand
sanitizer.
- Memorial services will be conducted in accordance with
industry-specific guidance, including sanitizing chairs and the podium
in the Committal Shelter before each service.
- Gatherings in the committal shelter will be limited to service
participants and family, with seating and standing maintaining physical
distancing. Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear masks.
- Rifle teams for Military Honors will maintain physical distancing
from each other, the services and other guests. Military Honors team
members folding and presenting the flag will wear masks and gloves.
- Funeral directors will place flowers on the gravesite.
- Visitors to gravesites do not need to wear masks if they are members of the same family and do not interact with staff.
It
is the intent of KDVA to move from Healthy at Home to Healthy at work
while keeping our employees, veterans and their families healthy during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Cemeteries Branch will continue to
provide interments and perpetual care for all qualified veterans and
eligible family members in a dignified and compassionate manner worthy
of the respect and honor they richly deserve.
Mission
The mission of KDVA's Cemetery Branch is to ensure
dignified interment for veterans in a sacred space that stands as a
tribute to their service for the nation and the Commonwealth. KDVA
currently operates five State Veterans Cemeteries across the state.
Wreaths Ceremony 2020
Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West invited families of veterans interred there to help place more than 3,300 wreaths on Dec. 19.
Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West
5817 Fort Campbell Boulevard
Hopkinsville, KY 42240
Phone: 270-889-6106
Fax: 270-889-6109
Email: kdva.kvcw@ky.gov
Qualifications
According to Kentucky law,
the individual must be a Kentucky veteran for burial at one of the state
veteran cemeteries. Examples include: born in KY, served at one of the
U.S. military installations in KY, lived in KY, home of record in KY.
Hours of Operation
Kentucky's State Veterans Cemeteries
are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Normal business
hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, not including state
holidays. Interments take place on non-holiday weekdays only.
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are reserved for families and loved ones
of those interred to visit in peace and quiet.
Services
Total interment services include:
- Furnishing grave or columbarium space
- Opening and closing the grave
- Providing the interment site with perpetual care
- Supplying a suitable marker or headstone
- Furnishing an optional concrete grave liner for casketed burials