- The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
- 19 Feb 2025
Dear Middletown residents,
The Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown will be running out of space by July 2027 and will close.
Fortunately, in late January 2025, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) posted an invitation to submit proposals (DVA -RFP 25-01) for site offerings for the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), “throughout the State of Connecticut, preferably centrally located.”
This DAS Veteran Cemetery Bid Plan is a great opportunity and a clear call to action for Middletown residents to continue our commitment to honor our eligible Connecticut veterans — united in service to our great nation — by offering a final and lasting resting place, here in the Forest City.
Middletown has four competitive advantages over other Connecticut municipalities making an expansion in the state’s best interests:
An expansion complementing the Middletown State Veterans Cemetery (MSVC) as an annex (within three miles of the current cemetery according to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy) will cost state taxpayers millions of dollars less than creating a new Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery.
The centrally located MSVC is easily accessible to families and friends from across the Constitution State wishing to visit the largest veterans memorial and shrine in Connecticut.
The MSVC has a well-developed infrastructure with expansive and accessible overflow surface parking on the adjacent Connecticut Valley Hospital grounds (eg. 500-plus participants at the 2024 Wreaths Across America Day).
Middletown has decades of demonstrated and continuous veteran and community support for this source of pride, including state Memorial and Veterans Day ceremonies, twice annual “Flags In,” and the Wreaths Across America Day program.
The DAS Veteran Cemetery Bid Plan should be a clarion call for Middletown veterans, residents, and leaders to take up the torch and continue our commitment to honor our Connecticut veterans and provide a dignified burial site in Middletown.
You can share this email, sound off to your neighbors, call your realtor friends, and email your common council members, because the DAS call for proposals closes on Feb. 28, and may terminate our opportunity to continue our commitment, to our fellow veterans, in our great city of Middletown.
Charles M. Pickett is chairman of the Save Our Cemetery (SOC) Campaign and senior vice commander of VFW Connecticut.
Article Name:A clarion call for Middletown
Publication:The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
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