CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Local veterans are taking up the charge to ensure that the Cheyenne National Cemetery is in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act, contains accessible restrooms and has a proper road. These are problems that the City of Cheyenne is taking steps to address, but the Department of Veteran Affairs, or VA, has yet to respond to.
Opened in 2020, the 5-acre national cemetery is located on Hildreth Road in the northwest part of Cheyenne. The space, which is on city-owned property, will serve the burial needs of more than 22,000 veterans, their spouses and eligible family members for the next 40 years. There are roughly 56,948 veterans within a 75-mile radius of the city. It is one of the 155 national cemeteries managed by the VA across 42 states and Puerto Rico.
For the past year, Edward Galavotti, Larry Poch and other local veterans have been raising awareness about the cemetery’s poor road conditions and lack of parking spaces to Mayor Patrick Collins and the City Council.
The road leading up to the space is a dirt one that frequently has potholes and water puddles.
“Can you imagine a hearse with a casket just bouncing around as it goes through [the road]?” Galavotti said. “There is no easy way to go around them, you just have to go through them.”
The city’s Street and Alley Department takes a road grader out each week to even out the path, but Galvaotti said the process does little to fix the drainage issue. The holes can be dangerous for visitors walking along the road, including the elderly and those in wheelchairs, he said.
The lack of parking spaces in the cemetery is also a safety concern. During internment or burial ceremonies, attendees have to park their cars along the side of the road, which can block entry and exit ways.
Poch recalled an incident where an Honor Guard member experienced a medical emergency during a service. The ambulance was unable to get through with so many cars in the way. Luckily, the guard was able to get help, but the experience highlighted the cemetery’s deficiencies, Poch said.
Collins doesn’t know why the road was not paved before the cemetery opened in 2020 as he was “not a part of those conversations.” What matters now, he said, is that the city is taking steps to have the road paved and to construct 14–15 new parking spots.
“We have a very robust military here in Cheyenne, and lots and lots of veterans,” he said. “We’re always happy to help anytime we can to help make that quality of life better for those guys.”
Before any renovations can happen, City Engineer Thomas Cobb said the office needs to conduct a survey of the land and create a design. He estimates both will be finished by spring 2024. The bidding process will take place that summer and hopefully by next fall the road will be completed.
“That timeline is realistic,” he said. “I know they’d like it sooner — we’d love to as well — but as I told other people, we just ask for patience because these things do take time to put together.”
Collins said he is recommending the City Council utilize their Reserve Funds to fund the project.
With road renovations set in place, Galavotti has started drafting a letter to the VA Office outlining local veterans’ concerns with the absence of ADA-compliant sidewalks and restrooms.
The Americans with Disabilities Act has a set of guidelines to ensure that sidewalks are accessible for those who are disabled, which include having a slope or curb ramp. Galavotti said the cemetery’s concrete sidewalk is roughly 4 inches above the ground and has no slope, making it difficult for visitors in wheelchairs.
The closest public restroom to the cemetery is roughly 8 miles away at a Sinclair gas station, Galavotti said.
“At a time of crisis, people are not in the mood to be told, ‘Hey you need to drive away to use the restroom,'” he said. “You just have to think about these things.”
Poch hopes the VA’s Office will listen to their concerns like the city staff has.
“The city has come up with a great plan,” he said. “They will have a bid in, and do it at the first opportunity, that’s what going to happen. Maybe at that time the VA will see the light.”
Although the Cheyenne location is not as well-known as the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia or the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Pearl Harbor, Poch said it deserves the same respect.
“This national cemetery, in my personal opinion, is just as sacred as even one of those,” he said. “Those are American veterans buried [in Cheyenne]. Those are veterans, and those families in those times of mourning deserve better. That’s why we’re doing it.”
