INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

As the sound of hammers hitting nails echoed, Gene Timmons surveyed an expanse of smooth, bright-green grass that radiated from a row of flags. "It gives you the chills," said the Vietnam War veteran and veterans' advocate. "What an honor."

Timmons, 58, of West Deptford, joined a group of veterans and county officials Tuesday evening to rehearse tomorrow's consecration of the long-awaited Gloucester County Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Monroe Township.

The one-hour ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m. and open to the public, will feature a keynote address by Gov. McGreevey, a military flyover and blessings from a range of clergy, including a Catholic priest, a Buddhist monk and a Muslim imam. Rabbi Lewis Eron of Cherry Hill offered a blessing in a separate ceremony today.

The 68-acre cemetery on Tuckahoe Road, originally due to open on Memorial Day, has been keenly anticipated by many county veterans.

"They're busting at the seams," said Timmons, who formerly served as the commander of the county's Veterans Advisory Board and who helped plan the cemetery. "They just can't wait."

At least 25,000 plots, including spaces for cremated remains, will be available to veterans who were living in the county either when they were inducted or when they died. Spouses and the disabled children of veterans can also be buried at the cemetery for no charge. Headstones will be provided by the federal government.

There are about 24,000 veterans residing in Gloucester County, according to the county Office of Veterans Affairs.

More than 1,000 applications have already been approved by the cemetery. The total cost of the project is estimated at $7,675,000.

The site includes a public information center with a computer kiosk where family members can look up their relatives' plots electronically. A volunteer color guard, composed of county veterans, will be available for all services, said county Freeholder William Krebs.

"When people decide to have their roots here in Gloucester County, that's making a statement," said Krebs, who serves as liaison to the Office of Veterans Affairs. "For veterans who served their country and call their home Gloucester County, we feel it's right that they can stay in Gloucester County forever."

Some residents have expressed their desire to exhume relatives' remains from other locations so that they can be re-interred in Gloucester County, said Krebs.

"We have people standing by, holding remains," he said.

Krebs was recently approached by a veteran who told him he wanted to give up his plot at Arlington National Cemetery so that he could be buried in Gloucester County.

"When I hear people want to give up their spots in Arlington, I'm humbled," he said.

The impetus for the cemetery came from county freeholder director and State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, who attended a service at Cumberland County's veteran cemetery in 2001.

"The hair on the back of my neck stood up," Sweeney said.

Sweeney directed the county's Veterans Advisory Board to visit other cemeteries in the state and come up with a plan.

"We are very thankful for this," said Bob Jonas, current commander of the Veterans Advisory Board. "Every county doesn't have the honor that was bestowed on us by the freeholders."

Timmons said some veterans were at first skeptical.

"They had their doubts," he said. "Because they've been hurt before. Somebody promises something, and they get let down. Well, they never got their hopes up. Now, when it finally became a reality . . . it's like that's all they talk about: 'The cemetery's coming.' "

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/9110880.htm?1c