Doris Maricle

JENNINGS —With rich soil and deep rooted history, the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery is the final resting place for veterans, spouses and eligible dependents.

Since opening a year ago, Cemetery Director Dwayne Guidry, a veteran himself, has made it his mission to make the cemetery a place where veterans can be honored for their sacrifices and laid to rest alongside fellow service members.

“We are the only veterans cemetery in Southwest Louisiana and the only one located next to a veterans home where veterans can be buried with fellow veterans, their spouses and eligible dependent children,” Guidry said. “And family members can know that their loved ones are always being taken care of.”

To date, the cemetery is the final resting place for 73 veterans, 11 spouses and one dependent child.

Like many things in the past year, Guidry said the coronavirus pandemic delayed some burials and cancelled ceremonies, including an event to mark the one year anniversary of the cemetery’s opening at the sprawling facility located behind the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home off Evangeline Road in Jennings.

The cemetery was dedicated by Gov. John Bel Edwards on March 6, 2020 with the first interment of Marine Sgt. Ted Cox Sr. on May 7, followed by the first committal service for Army SP4 Ed Gary on June 11. Sgt. Carolyn Ann Mouton Carter, was the first female African American veteran buried in the cemetery, in June.

“It’s been hard because of the coronavirus to know what to expect,” Guidry said. “My biggest concern is that a lot of veterans in the area don’t know we exist and that burials are free to veterans.”

The cemetery provides a variety of burial options for veterans, spouses and dependent children including in-ground casket and cremated remains burial and interment of cremated remaIns in a columbaria wall.

The 20-plus acre veterans cemetery was planned in phases so that it can be expanded over time as demand for burial spaces and interment of ashes increase.

 The first phase of 10 acres includes 1,212 in-ground vaults for caskets, 185 sites for in-ground cremated remains and 380 niches in the columbarium walls.

The cemetery is operated by the Louisiana Department of Veterans and is the fifth and final veterans cemetery in the state. Visitation is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

It was built to serves the needs of more than 36,000 veterans, spouses and their eligible children in Southwest Louisiana and surrounding areas.

“When families bury their loved ones here, they will know they will always be taken care of,” Guidry said, stressing that continued perpetual care is provided at no charge to families.

All members and veterans of the armed forces are eligible for burial in the cemetery. Internment, headstones and memorial markers are provided by the cemetery at no cost to the veteran. Spouses and eligible children may be buired at the cemetery for a modest fee.

All services are held at the committal shelters, an open-air pavilion with seating.

Veterans can complete a pre-need application to make the burial planning process easier for family members.

The Veterans Cemetery office is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. Guidry can be contacted at 337-246-7094.

Online: www.vetaffairs.la.gov/benefit/veterans-cemeteries/The 20-plus acre Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Jennings is the final resting place for 85 veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Doris Maricle