VA Awards $1.5 Million for Western Montana Veterans Cemetery Expansion

MISSOULA — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded Montana up to $1.5 million to expand the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery, providing crucial additional burial space for the state’s veteran community.

The federal grant will fund 300 pre-placed crypts and 820 columbarium niches at the Missoula cemetery, along with roadway enhancements, landscaping, and irrigation improvements. The VA will also reimburse the state $274,006 for the cost of fabrication and delivery of outer burial receptacles for the project.

The cemetery currently serves more than 17,000 veterans and eligible family members across western Montana.

“Veterans cemeteries like Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Missoula keep the memories of America’s heroes alive,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “Under President Trump, VA is committed to ensuring facilities like it have the resources they need to provide excellent benefits and services to Veterans and their families, and this grant underscores that fact.”

The expansion addresses growing burial needs as Montana’s veteran population continues to require final resting places with military honors. The additional crypts and columbarium niches will significantly increase the cemetery’s capacity to serve families seeking dignified burial options for their loved ones who served in the military.

Governor Greg Gianforte praised the federal investment, emphasizing the state’s commitment to honoring veterans.

“We have a solemn responsibility to honor and remember the veterans who have served our country and passed on,” Gianforte said. “With this expansion, the State of Montana will ensure the legacy of our heroes and their families is forever memorialized at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery.”

The Missoula cemetery expansion follows a similar federal investment in 2024, when the VA awarded Montana $2.7 million to expand the Montana Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison. That project provided funding for 300 pre-placed crypts, 800 columbarium niches, 500 cremains gravesites, and landscaping for a facility serving more than 22,000 veterans and family members.

The two grants represent nearly $4.2 million in federal investment in Montana’s state veterans cemetery system over the past two years, demonstrating the VA’s commitment to maintaining adequate burial capacity for the state’s veteran population.

Both cemetery expansions reflect the ongoing need to accommodate Montana’s substantial veteran community, ensuring families have access to appropriate final resting places that honor military service with dignity and respect.