Department of Veterans Affairs Dedicates Fargo National Cemetery

Local dignitaries were there, and military members were honored

HARWOOD, N.D. — It’s a 4.82-acre site that will serve the needs of 30,000 veterans, as well as their spouses and family members.

Even though it was a rainy day, people crowded into a tent for the Fargo National Cemetery Dedication Ceremony.

Local dignitaries were there, and it was a time to honor those who served our country.

Lucas Dusek, a retired member of the North Dakota National Guard, has been waiting for this to open for years.

“I intend on being here when the time comes, and I’m glad it’s really close, my family’s a lot closer here than anywhere else in the nation,” he said.

It took about ten years of planning and getting legislation passed to get to this point.

“We as a nation are meeting our commitment because we have a very sacred commitment and a responsibility and an obligation to honor those who have served our nation. We have also an obligation to ensure our family members who are left behind know their family member will never be forgotten,” Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves said.

“It’s to never forget. The families are often forgotten. They’re left behind more often than not. Service men and women go off to foreign countries and there’s fathers and daughters and sons have to stay behind many times, something like this will always keep people remembering who is left behind,” Dusek said.

Officials unveiled a dedication plaque.

Under Secretary Reeves says everyone has two deaths, one is when they take their last breath. He wants to make sure, “they don’t die what we call the second death, when we don’t talk about them or we don’t tell their story,” he said.

That’s one you won’t find at the cemetery, as veterans’ stories continue to be told.

The first stage of cemetery development will have 3,000 casket and cremation spaces to cover burials for the next ten years.