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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2005 Eagle Point National Cemetery will expand Growing demand drives the addition of 8,000 grave sites By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — With a growing demand for grave sites, the Eagle Point National Cemetery is being expanded by about 8,000 burial spaces. The largest expansion in the history of the cemetery is being driven by the fact the veterans population from the World War II era and beyond is dying at an increasingly faster rate, said cemetery director Jim Trimbo. "They figure that World War II veterans are passing away at the rate of 1,100 a day now," he said, adding, "This should carry us for the next eight to 10 years." The cemetery, administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, covers 47 acres on the east side of Riley Road. There are now nearly 12,000 occupied grave sites in the cemetery. A little over five years ago there were about 8,000 occupied grave sites. Advertisement "The expansion we’re doing now will complete everything on this side of the road," said Trimbo, an Army veteran discharged as a sergeant in 1970. The VA has another eight acres of undeveloped cemetery land immediately across the road. The expansion on the main cemetery will include a new entrance and a wrought-iron fence, he said. "After we get all the roads in, then we’ll be able to figure out exactly how many grave sites we’re going to get," he said. "We’re using approximations now." An average 55 veterans are buried each month at the cemetery. "I have available right now another 500," Trimbo said of burial plots. "The additional 8,000 will bring us up to about 20,000 grave sites." U.S. Census 2000 figures show that more than 25,000 veterans live in Jackson County. The cemetery is available to active duty personnel and veterans with discharges other than dishonorable as well as their spouses and dependent children. While most people buried here are from Southern Oregon and Northern California, others are from as far as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northern Utah and northern Nevada. In addition to providing a grave site and a grave liner, the VA opens and closes the grave and provides a headstone or marker, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, a U.S. flag and perpetual care for the grave at no cost to the family. Oregon has three national cemeteries, including Eagle Point, Roseburg and Willamette Cemetery in Portland. Nationally, the VA administers 120 national cemeteries. Two national cemeteries —Arlington and Soldiers Home — are administered by the U.S. Army. Fourteen national cemeteries are under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Trimbo, 57, worked at the Willamette Cemetery for more than 30 years before becoming director of the Eagle Point cemetery two years ago. He also oversees the Roseburg National Cemetery. "The National Cemetery System is getting proactive about expanding a lot of the existing cemeteries," he said, noting there are five new large ones planned nationally. In 1999 and 2003, Congress passed two laws that directed the VA to establish 12 new national cemeteries. More than 2.5 million Americans, from the Revolutionary War to the current Iraq War, are buried in national cemeteries. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Memorial Day service The annual Memorial Day service at the Eagle Point National Cemetery begins at 11 a.m. May 30. Veterans will lay wreaths on grave sites in a ceremony followed by a 21-gun salute. Music will be provided by the Eagle Point High School band. The cemetery is one mile east of Eagle Point at 2763 Riley Road. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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