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National Cemetery in Fort Smith 'a place of honor,' new director says

Times Record - 4/17/2017

April 16--The new U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith director commands respect for the nation's veterans and their families.

Gerard Lyons, a 32-year-old Iraq War veteran who served as an Army forward observer, was appointed the new cemetery director in February after serving as assistant director of the Phoenix National Memorial Cemetery. He also was the first director of the new Yellowstone National Cemetery in Montana, which opened in May 2014.

While Lyons focuses on the day-to-day operations of the national cemeteries in both Fort Smith and Little Rock, he also has plans to improve signage on directions, rules and regulations.

"The new signs will just let people know this is a place of honor and a hallowed place and don't bring your pets in here and you can't exercise in here," Lyons said. "I know it's not malicious, but if you're in your track suit running around here, come on, get out."

Lyons went on to say although he can understand why someone would want to exercise in the cemetery, he won't have it.

"These people are heroes," Lyons said. "Every single headstone out there is a monument to somebody's service and some of these people did incredible things. They deserve the utmost respect."

A Davenport, Iowa, native who comes from a large military family, Lyons said he spent some time "wandering" after his service. Through a program for veterans he learned of a caretakers position at the Rock Island National Cemetery near his hometown.

Lyons worked at Rock Island National Cemetery for three years before moving to Montana to lead the new cemetery at Yellowstone. From there, he was accepted and graduated from the Veteran Administration's yearlong National Training Center program at St. Louis. He was as the Phoenix cemetery for six months when the position in Fort Smith became open. He is married and has a 3-year-old son.

His predecessor in Fort Smith, Howard Porter Jr., has been promoted and works in the VA's Veterans Experience Program. Porter became director last April. Adriene Benton, his predecessor, went on to direct the Black Hills National Cemetery in South Dakota, after two years at the U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith starting in August 2014.

The U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith has averaged about 40 burials a month, Lyons said when pointing out the National Cemetery Administration within the VA was recently given the highest approval rating given by the American Customer Satisfaction Index among both private and public sectors. It was the sixth consecutive year for the the VA'sNational Cemetery Administration to top the index.

"The nation loves its national cemeteries," Lyons said.

Something the new director would eventually like to explore in his career is environmentally aware "green burials." He also is in support of historical projects like VA's Legacy Program, which offers digital learning tools like interactive maps and videos to connect communities with an enshrined veterans' legacy.

On March 23, the VA announced a new online Daily Burial Schedule for all VA national cemeteries, which will allow families and loved ones to retrieve time and location information for those being interred, via its National Cemetery Administration (NCA) website.

"We pride ourselves on continuously improving customer satisfaction and meeting the wishes of Veterans and their loved ones," interim Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald E. Walters said in a VA news release. "We want manageable information for anyone wishing to pay their respects."

The new feature is available to anyone with a smartphone, tablet or computer. Families may also opt out of using this service. Schedules of interments are posted online and updated hourly at: www.cem.va.gov/dailyburialschedule.

The public can search by national cemetery or last name. DBS will give the scheduled committal service date and time, location of the cemetery and funeral home providing services. The location of the committal shelter will be provided at the cemetery. Users may also navigate to the specific VA national cemetery website for directions and further information.

The VA operates 135 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites in 40 states and Puerto Rico. More than 4 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in national cemeteries. The VA also provides funding to maintain 105 veterans cemeteries in 47 states and territories including tribal trust lands, Guam, and Saipan. For veterans not buried in a national cemetery, the VA provides headstones, markers or medallions to commemorate their service. In 2016, there were more than 345,000 veterans and their loved ones honored with memorial benefits in national, state, tribal and private cemeteries.

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(c)2017 Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.)

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