South Dakota Veterans Cemetery ready to offer final resting place to those who served

On 60 acres of picturesque land just northeast of Sioux Falls, thousands of South Dakota veterans and their families will find their final resting place.

The South Dakota Veterans Cemetery is the first federally funded, state-owned and -operated veterans cemetery in the state, and it ultimately will provide space for more than 28,000 burials.

“It’s a peaceful place,” said Erin Brown, the cemetery’s director. “Getting to see it go from a big muddy field to what it is today is very exciting and really rewarding to be able to get to work here every day and take care of all the veterans that will be here.”

A ribbon-cutting will be held at 2 p.m. Memorial Day. The cemetery is at 25965 477th Ave., not far from the junction of interstates 29 and 229.

Burials will begin in June, and the grounds will be open to the public to come pay their respects.

“Every veteran is important. Every burial is just as meaningful as the next. And we get to do that every day,” Brown said.

The land was donated by the city of Sioux Falls. The funding received for the first phase, from the National Cemetery Administration and the state of South Dakota, allowed for construction of the main entrance, maintenance building, administration building, scattering garden, committal service shelter, Avenue of Flags, a memorial wall, 610 pre-placed crypts, 999 in-ground cremains sites and 660 columbarium niches.

It’s all found in a landscaped setting in accordance with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs standards.

There is no state residency requirement to be interred in the cemetery.

“People come out, and they are just so appreciative and so excited for this facility to be here,” Brown said.

“You’ve just got this really neat, beautiful landscape out here.”

Wildlife are seen often, she added.

“I think I see deer every morning. There’s turkeys that just roam all the way across every morning, pheasants everywhere and lots of birds … we have shared with some of the families that there is quite a bit of wildlife out here, and they have expressed that their loved one would be very excited about that.”

The cemetery will be expanded as needed and eventually will be capable of providing a final resting place for more than 28,000 veterans and family members.

Those who are interested in potentially being buried here need to complete pre-registration to compile necessary documentation. That doesn’t commit you to using the cemetery but allows the possibility.

Once the veteran or spouse dies, the family would reach out to complete a burial application and set up a time for a committal service. Burial costs for the veteran are provided. There is a cost for spouses and eligible dependents.

“We get to take care of the veteran and their family,” Brown said. “That’s the part we’re really looking forward to, is for us to be that safe place and that comforting place for people to come and remember their loved one.”