(Masslive) Agawam — In a speech on Thursday, Gov. Maura T. Healey pledged that if she is re-elected next week, she will begin the process of expanding Western Massachusetts’ only veterans cemetery — a place that gives “loved ones a place to come together to reflect and remember.”
Despite hosting more than 13,000 interments in the past 20 years, the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Agawam is not running out of space, workers said. The governor said she wants to begin the expansion process now, while neighboring properties are still available.
“We need to start planning before space becomes a problem,” Healey said. “Our veterans answered the call. We owe it to them, and their families, to make sure we’re prepared.”
State veterans cemeteries provide burial plots at no cost for veterans and their spouses, on a property dedicated to honoring military service. This is a basic government function, said state Sen. John C. Velis, D-Westfield.
“If you can’t give a level of dignity or care, and at the end of the day, a resting place, to the less than 1% that serves, what are we doing here?” asked Velis, who is himself an Army veteran.