Major Charles "Chuck" Shehan
February 11, 1922 - May 6, 2008
Ret. U.S. Army

From The Bivouac Of The Dead

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on Life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents to spread,
And glory guards, with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.

By Theodore O'Hara

Georgia National Cemetery
2025 Mount Carmel Church Lane
Canton, GA 30114
Phone: (866) 236-8159 or (770) 479-9300
Fax: (770) 479-9311
 

The Georgia National Cemetery opened for burials on April 24, 2006.

The new 775-acre national cemetery in western Cherokee County, Ga., will serve veterans for the next 50 years.

The property on which the cemetery rests was donated by Scott Hudgens, the late Atlanta World War II veteran, land developer and philanthropist. The site lies midway between Cartersville and Canton, near the Etowah River, offering views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Allatoona.

J. M. Wilkerson Construction Company, Inc., of Marietta, Ga., was awarded the construction contract in December 2004. In addition to an entrance area, an information center, administration and maintenance building, public restrooms, flag plaza, shelters for committal services, the project includes a total of 33,000 full-casket gravesites, 3,000 in-ground sites for cremation remains and 3,000 columbaria niches for cremation remains.

Burial arrangements will be made after death, as with all national cemeteries. VA does not reserve grave space. Veterans or spouses wishing to be buried in national cemeteries should have the veteran’s military separation papers available to establish eligibility, which requires an other-than-dishonorable discharge. Dependent children may also be buried.