{Institute, West Virginia}...Monday, Memorial Day, a 3:00 P.M. dedication ceremony was held marking the official opening of the first state cemetery for veterans in West Virginia. The $14 million site is located in Institute in Kanawha County. It is named the Donal Kinnard Memorial State Veteran's Cemetery in honor of the Navy SEAL who served during the Vietnam War and worked prior to his 2009 death to secure funding for the cemetery. The project was largely paid for with funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs which provided more money for it than any other state cemetery. The state cemetery is located on 100 acres of land Dow Chemical donated, near the State Police Academy. There will eventually be enough space for 60,000 burial plots. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Second District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and Keith Gwinn, Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance were among those who attended the ceremony.
