WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) today announced the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded the State of Maryland a $4,610,970 grant to expand and improve the Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills, Maryland. 

“Our veterans deserve a final resting place fitting of the enormous sacrifices they have made on behalf of our country,” said Senator Cardin.  “Garrison Forest has provided a dignified, peaceful final resting place for thousands of Maryland’s veterans, and this grant will ensure that the cemetery will continue to serve generations of veterans and their families for many years to come.”  

“I am so thankful for the patriotism, commitment and sacrifice our veterans and their families have made for us,” Senator Mikulski said. “We must honor our military men and women who have served our country, not just with words, but with deeds. This funding will make sure that Garrison Forest remains a place of honor for Maryland’s veterans.”

The grant will fund construction of 462 cremains gravesites, a new administration building, a new maintenance facility, and supporting infrastructure.  The project will develop approximately 3.5 acres and provide improved service for veterans and their families in Maryland.  The grant will cover 100 percent of allowable costs associated with the project.

Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery is the most active of Maryland’s five Veterans Cemeteries, conducting more than 1,225 burials a year. The 102-acre cemetery is the third busiest State Veterans Cemetery in the nation. Since December 1983, when the facility opened, more than 28,300 veterans and their dependents have been buried there. Five phases of cemetery development are expected to provide approximately 46,000 burial sites. 

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