It took almost a quarter-century of envisioning, planning and fundraising. This Friday, March 13, the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery will finally break ground on the former Fort Ord.
The timing is auspicious for another piece of good news for the cemetery: Yesterday, executors of the Robert and Elayne Stein Estate presented the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Foundation with a $1.1 million donation to support construction.
The community ceremony at the General Stilwell Community Center (4260 Gigling Road) is open to the public and begins at 10:30am Friday.
Featured speakers include State Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel), U.S. Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) and George Eisenbach, director of the National Cemetery Administration.
A little background from Monning's press release:
The Phase I construction plan includes the construction of the main entrance, roads, an assembly area, a committal shelter, columbaria, 5,000 columbarium niches, landscaping, a memorial walkway, and supporting infrastructure for 17 acres. Completion of Phase I is anticipated to be July 17, 2016. The CCCVC is expected to intern more than 100,000 veterans and family members who live in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Santa Clara, and San Luis Obispo counties.