California’s Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this month announced completion of a comprehensive study for a long-awaited veterans cemetery at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim – marking a key step forward on OC’s first final resting place for vets.
It comes after a years of political fighting in Irvine caused the proposed veterans cemetery there to shift locations, stalling the project out until local and state officials shifted their focus to a plot of land off the 91 freeway in Anaheim.
[Read: How Did Irvine Fail To Build A Veterans Cemetery After Nearly A Decade Of Debate?]
The state agency study put the price of building a veterans cemetery at $86 million, set out over a series of stages in the next few decades as plots are filled.
Officials said they were able to save $45 million and increase burial capacity by 50% by shifting to updated designs that were more eco-friendly by using less site grading.
Initial projections show the cemetery will be able to support 30,000 placements with a total of 157,000 potential placements envisioned across eight phases of construction. The project is also being combined with the OC Cemetery District, which is expected to save money.
Two veterans sit in the back of a jeep during a tour of the Gypsum Canyon proposed veterans cemetery site, which rests between the 91 and 241 toll road in 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“This milestone provides renewed momentum for a project that has long been a priority for veterans, families, and community leaders in Southern California,” reads the news release sent out by the state veterans affairs agency on May 8.
Officials said with the agency’s study complete and costs defined, “CalVet and its partners are positioned to take the next steps in the planning and coordination needed to advance the project.”
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk Silva, who has been the main shepherd of the project in the state legislature for more than a decade, was quoted in the news release saying, “This progress shows that years of work by veterans, advocates, and public partners is paying off. This project is moving from vision to reality, and this study gives us the practical information we need to keep that momentum going.”
Governor Jerry Brown talked about supporting a veterans cemetery in Orange County at a Friday press conference in Irvine in 2017. Credit: Jeff Antenore/Voice of OC
“Orange County, one of the largest veteran communities in California, has long deserved a place where those who served can be remembered with the dignity and honor they earned,” said Assemblyman Avelina Valencia, who is running for state senate and also was quoted in the state release.
Referencing earlier debates about where to place the cemetery, Valencia underscored that, “Gypsum Canyon is that place.”
Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner, whose advocacy on the project goes back alongside Quirk Silva to the beginning, said he was encouraged by the report, which he notes demonstrates, “that the project is quite achievable.”
“This cemetery project has brought the whole Orange County community together in a way we have not seen for quite some time,” Wagner said, adding, “serving our veterans is the perfect reason for us to come together.”
“We are extremely grateful for all the incredible support we have received throughout the community. It’s through their efforts and the unwavering commitment from veterans that we will soon be moving to Phase I Construction,” said Nick Berardino, President of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County (VALOR), which was the chief veterans’ advocate and organizing voice behind the initiative.
Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County, walks away from the podium after speaking at the future site of the veterans cemetery, where he was met with fist bumps and cheers from veterans. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Moving forward, the next year will likely focus on getting utilities like water and power onto the site, which then opens the door for tractors and site grading.
“It’s difficult to predict its completion date (like any other major public works project) because of so many variables; but we are hoping for late ‘28 to mid ‘29,” Berardino said. “It was a tough hill to take but we all proved we are limitless when we work together; particularly in the memory of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our democracy.”
The site of the proposed veterans site in Gypsum Canyon just east of Anaheim Hills on July 1, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
A dirt road leading to the American flag alongside the public cemetery section of the Gypsum Canyon Cemetery Development on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC
The flag is raised by veterans, public officials and attendees at the groundbreaking for Gypsum Canyon site in Anaheim Hills on Dec. 8, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Moments after the flag raising veterans took a moment to climb up the smaller hill tops to view the flag blow in the wind on Nov. 30, 2022. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
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