Strong. Sam Houston National Cemetery will add 40,000 more spaces for burial and cremation by fall

San Antonio – More than 40,000 new burial and cremation spaces will soon be available to extend the life of Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery for decades to come.

Jerry Lefler, the cemetery’s new director, said the new burial and cremation spaces will be available this fall.

The additions are part of a five-year, $80 million expansion plan to develop 23 acres for burials.

“The reason we are doing this is to extend the life of the cemetery…With these additional burial and cremation sites, we can extend the life of the cemetery into the mid-2040s,” said Lefler.

Approximately 180,000 veterans and their family members are buried or memorialized at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Lefler supervises 55 workers at the cemetery who care for and maintain the honor of the heroes buried there.

“One of our goals in the National Cemetery Administration is that no veterans die,” he said.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people will visit the cemetery on Memorial Day this Monday, and a few thousand more in the days leading up to the holiday.