The following
information on the veterans cemetery has been copied
from Senator Nozzolio's website:
Albany - State Senator Michael
Nozzolio (R-Fayette) and State Assemblyman Joseph
D. Morelle (D-Irondequoit) have announced that their
joint legislation to establish a Veterans' cemetery
at the former Sampson Naval and Air Force Base in
Seneca County has been signed into New York State
law by Governor Spitzer. The legislation was adopted
by the Legislature last month. "This is a great
day for all veterans, who are America's true heroes,"
said Senator Nozzolio. "After years of hard work,
I am extremely pleased that the Veterans' cemetery
will now be a reality. This cemetery will be a lasting
tribute and place of honor where our veterans will
be appropriately remembered."
"We owe our military veterans
a great debt of gratitude for their service," Assemblyman
Morelle said. "They sacrifice so much, and risk
so much, on our behalf, and this is one small measure
of our respect for them. I thank my colleagues in
the Legislature for their support, and especially
thank Senator Nozzolio for his commitment to making
this a reality." Senator Nozzolio has committed
over $500,000 in New York State funding in an effort
to create a Veterans cemetery as the final resting
place for our military heroes. The legislation approved
by the Legislature will allow Seneca County to take
authority over land that has been designated for
the Veterans cemetery. The site of the proposed
cemetery, the Sampson United States Naval and Air
Force Base, served as a naval training station during
World War II and was later used as an Air Force
Basic Training Center. Constructed in 1942, Sampson
trained over 400,000 naval recruits during its years
of operation. Sailors trained at Sampson fought
and participated in every major battle of World
War II. During the Korean War the property was converted
to the Sampson Air Force Base and over 300,000 airmen
received their basic training there from 1950 until
1956. The Sampson Memorial Naval Museum and Air
Force Museum are currently located at the site.
Creation of a veterans' cemetery on the former Sampson
Naval and Air Force base has been one of the highest
legislative priorities for many veterans 'groups
throughout New York State. Over the years, New York
State Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion,
Korean Vets, New York State Council of Veterans
Organizations, the Sampson WW-2 Navy Veterans and
Sampson Air Force Veterans have all advocated on
behalf of the development of a cemetery at Sampson.
All honorably discharged veterans, their spouses
and dependent children will be eligible for burial
at the proposed cemetery. The guidelines for the
cemetery will be based on federal veteran cemetery
standards. This will include opening and closing
of the graves, perpetual upkeep and maintenance,
government headstone or marker, burial flag and
presidential certificate. Nozzolio and Morelle agreed
that the location of the cemetery is particularly
fitting. "It is especially rewarding to know that
this site, where young men and women once trained
to defend our nation, will now serve as a placed
of eternal honor and rest," Morelle said. "I'm proud
that upstate New York is home to such an historic
site." "With the adoption of this critical legislation,
we will now be able to take the necessary steps
to construct the Veterans' cemetery. The Sampson
site is a place of hallowed ground, where over three-quarters
of a million Americans were trained to defend and
preserve our freedom. These Americans trained at
Sampson to serve the country they loved and the
cemetery will forever honor their memory," concluded
Nozzolio.
Don Linborg,
Veterans Advisory Board Member
