The Idaho State Veterans Cemetery is a
military cemetery
A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.
Definition
The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be ...
in
Boise, Idaho. It opened in 2004, making
Idaho the last state to build a veterans cemetery.
History
In 2004, the cemetery opened as the first veterans cemetery in
Idaho, which was the last state to build one. The project cost $8.2 million (equivalent to $ million in ), which the federal government paid.
The cemetery's first internment was soldier
Brandon Titus, who was killed in action in the
Iraq War in 2004. He received the
Bronze Star and
Purple Heart.
Discrimination criticism
In 2014, the cemetery faced criticism for not allowing
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
veteran Madelynn Taylor to plan for her cremated remains to be buried with those of her deceased wife, Jean Mixner, who died in 2012. Idaho governor
Butch Otter released a statement that the cemetery required a valid marriage certificate and that Idaho did not
recognize same-sex marriage. After Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage was lifted on October 15, 2014, Taylor was awarded $70,000 in legal fees () from the state's Constitutional Defense Fund. In July 2015, a judge ordered Taylor's ashes would be buried with Mixner's upon death.
Statue by Benjamin Victor
As part of a
Memorial Day ceremony on May 29, 2021,
''I will have your back always...'', a bronze statue by
Benjamin Victor, was unveiled at the cemetery. This event was postponed from November 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The statue depicts two soldiers, with a male soldier resting on his knees holding dog tags and a female soldier holding her hand on his back. The woman is intended to portray a sense of readiness and protection while the man mourns.
References
External links
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Cemeteries in Idaho
Military cemeteries in the United States
Cemeteries established in the 2000s
Buildings and structures in Boise, Idaho
2004 establishments in Idaho