Editor’s Note: Click Here to watch Hawley’s interview on constructing veterans cemeteries

With the celebration of Veterans Day yesterday, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced that Gov. Cuomo and state leaders have committed to creating New York’s first veterans’ cemeteries in communities around the state which will serve as a proper and respectful final resting place for our state’s military heroes. The Director of New York State Veterans Affairs, Jim McDonough, recently said that constructing a special cemetery for veterans in Pembroke is one of his top priorities.

Hawley has been a strong proponent to create veterans cemeteries for many years, sponsoring A.5347 and A.887 which would provide the funding mechanism to preserve and maintain such cemeteries in the future. Hawley, the son of a World War Two veteran, served in the Ohio Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves.

“Our brave veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to preserve American liberty and freedom for generations to come, and these cemeteries will serve as a unique monument for friends, family and fellow veterans to appreciate their legacy,” Hawley said. “When an individual serves their country in the military, he or she also serves their state, and they deserve a final resting place with their fellow veterans. It is beyond time that New York steps up and gets this done.”