By News staff
EXETER, R.I. (AP) - The federal government has awarded Rhode Island's Veterans Cemetery $658,000 for the construction of a building to house cremation urns.
State officials announced the grant Tuesday.
The cemetery already has two buildings that house urns. The new structure will have niches for an additional 2,160 urns.
Kim Ripoli, associate director of the state's Division of Veterans Affairs, says the grant comes as more Americans are choosing to be cremated. She says that nationally, the rate of cremations has nearly doubled in the past 15 years.
Some 1,200 burials take place at the Veterans Cemetery each year.