This Sunday, May 29, 2016, the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery—Preston will be holding a Dedication Ceremony to officially open the cemetery as the second State Veterans Cemetery.

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs would like to invite all those interested in attending the ceremony to join us for the Dedication and view the 169-acre cemetery, this Memorial weekend. Two Veterans, both former Mayors of Preston, were the first Veterans to be interred at the cemetery this past Veterans Day.

A pre-ceremony concert presented by the Richfield Symphonic Band will perform at 1:30 p.m. and play until the ceremony starts at 2 p.m..

Preston is the second State Veterans Cemetery in Minnesota and provides military burial honors for Minnesota Veteran residents and their spouses.

The Preston Cemetery Committal Service building provides families with an outdoor space for honorary services. Grave markers are also be available upon request. For many Veterans, burial is the only benefit they ever use and MDVA take great pride in providing that special space for this nation’s heroes.

For more information about State Veterans Cemetery honors please go to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs /mdva/memorials/index.jspMemorials and Burials webpage. Staff at out State Cemeteries take great pride in what they do caring for Veterans and their families.

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to open two more State Veterans Cemeteries in the future, one in Duluth and the other in southwest Minnesota. These new cemeteries will provide better access to burial in the northeast and southwest regions of the state. Construction of the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery-Duluth is scheduled to start this October with an anticipated opening date in the spring of 2018.