$3.5 million grant awarded for veterans cemetery face-lift

CARSON CITY — The Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City will be getting a face-lift, thanks to a $3.5 million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Gov. Brian Sandoval on Thursday announced the funding will be used to raise and align headstones that have begun to shift.

"Our maintenance crews take immaculate care of the cemetery grounds on a daily basis," Sandoval said in a statement. "But over time the soil has begun to give way around some of the older headstones.

"This grant will greatly assist us in the restoration of the proper posture of the markers. It represents another step Nevada is taking to honor those who have served our nation."

The effort is more complicated than it sounds.

"We will chemically treat and remove all existing turf and top soil surrounding grave markers in all non-active burial sections, and replace it with new soil," said Kat Miller, director of the Nevada Department of Veterans Services.

All grave markers will be raised and realigned using a strong base material to limit or prevent any future problems, she said.

Chris Naylor, superintendent of the cemetery, said the project will encompass 642,222 square feet, roughly the size of 11 football fields, and include the realignment of 23,070 grave markers.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.