Commissioners Work with Veteran’s Cemetery Committee to Bring National Cemetery to Pikes Peak Region

At its regularly scheduled meeting, the El Paso County Board of Commissioners received an update from Bentley B. Rayburn, Major General, USAF (retired) about the recent activities of the Veteran’s Cemetery Committee.

The cemetery committee was formed in the early 1990’s and has recently been working with the Board of County Commissioners and the public to gain support in bringing a national veteran’s cemetery to the Pikes Peak region.

The County Commissioners have passed a resolution in support of bringing a national veteran’s cemetery to Colorado Springs and in May, the county acquired approximately 380 acres of land in Kane Ranch, located east of the city of Fountain. Part of this land has the possibility to be used for the purpose of creating a veteran’s cemetery.

“The Kane Ranch site holds great promise for a veteran’s cemetery with it’s location in southern El Paso County and the foresight of the original donor to allow either a park or cemetery on the land,” said Board Chair Dennis Hisey. “It is very important that the Veteran’s Administration sees local government stepping up to the plate on this issue.”

According to Bentley, the committee has been making some forward progress with the Veteran’s Administration by proposing that part of Kane Ranch should be used for the creation of the veteran’s cemetery. The first goal of the proposal is to get on the Veteran’s Administration’s cemetery list and then it can take up to 12 years to finally receive federal funding for the cemetery.

“We have seen a lot of very encouraging signs this year,” said Rayburn. “Legislative support has been good, House Bill 295 was passed and we are working very hard with Senate Bill 168. Part of our argument is the fact that Fort Logan is the closest national cemetery and it is running out of room to expand. It is estimated that by 2024 or 2027, it will be at capacity. We are trying to generate more public pressure on the Senate side and on the Veteran’s Administration itself to put a national veteran’s cemetery in this area of the state,” he added.

Mr. Rayburn noted that both congressmen for the area, Doug Lamborn and John Salazar, were instrumental in passing the bill through the House of Representatives, and that the committee would be working with Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar for Senate passage.

“We, as elected officials, along with the local Veteran’s Cemetery Committee, are willing to work with federal agencies so that men and women who have served our country are able to find a resting place near their loved ones,” said County Commissioner Wayne Williams.

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