The weather has postponed a series of meetings planned by the Veterans Administration concerning the upcoming construction of a new rural national cemetery for veterans in the town of Cassian.
The meetings were set for Wednesday in Merrill, Rhinelander and Eagle River but were postponed due to bad weather.
Oneida County Veterans Service Officer Tammy Walters talks about the change...
"....Fort Snelling is going to oversee the national cemetery that is coming here to the Rhinelander area, town of Cassian. They're going to come out and talk about it and let us know when things are happening, when you can get into the cemetery, every little detail abou the National Cemetery that is coming here. Unfortunately Mother Nature had another plan...."
The VA announced in 2015 that it purchased six acres for $24,000 for a National Veterans Burial Ground. Walters says while the cemetery is believed to serve mainly Midwest veterans, the burial ground is open to all veterans, regardless of location.
It will include in-ground casket burial sites, in-ground cremation burial sites, above-ground columbarium nches, a memorial wall, flagpoles, a memorial walkway, roads and other infrastructure.
Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee which was the state's only national cemetery, closed to first interment casketed burials in 1997 and to cremation burials in 2001. The closest open national cemetery is Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, approximately 220 miles away. Walters says there will be an announcement when the meetings are rescheduled.
