BIRDEYE, Ark.—A fifth veterans cemetery for Arkansas will be established by the state on 99 acres near this Cross County community, officials say.

“This is something that has been badly needed in Arkansas and particularly in this part of the state,” said Jerry Bowen of Jonesboro, a former undersecretary in the federal Veterans Affairs Department.

Of the four current veterans cemeteries in Arkansas, only three are open for new burials—national cemeteries at Fayetteville and Fort Smith and a third being developed by the state at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock. The Little Rock National Cemetery has no more room for gravesites.

The new veterans cemetery, to be a state operation, will be developed on land bought from the Maurice Smith family of Birdeye, near the intersection of Arkansas 42 and Arkansas 163, northeast of Wynne and east of Cherry Valley.

The Smith family sold the land for $150,000, but that is only a small part of the cost. Bowen said that, in addition to the land, the estimated cost of developing the cemetery will be $5.6 million. The state Legislature has appropriated $1.3 million to start the project, Bowen said.

A formal announcement of plans for the cemetery is to be made by Gov. Mike Beebe on Tuesday at Little Rock.

“This is great news and a very important first step to be able to provide services for the veterans and their families of northeast Arkansas,” Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said.

David Fletcher, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, said the need for a new veterans burial ground was made apparent by the large pool of World War II veterans living in the region.

According to Bowen, 46 percent of all veterans in the state live in central Arkansas, 34 percent in northwest Arkansas, 16 percent in northeast Arkansas, 4 percent in southeast Arkansas and 5 percent in southwest Arkansas.

The cost of development will be paid for by the federal government through the state, Bowen said.

Fletcher said the cemetery will have a full-time staff of five and an estimated annual operating budget of $250,000.

Bowen said the site was chosen based not only on its location relatively central to the region, but also on the availability of suitable land with good access.

“The committee looked all up and down Crowley’s Ridge from Forrest City to Harrisburg, before settling on the site,” he said.

Officials estimate the first burial could be as early as Memorial Day or Veterans Day in 2010, Bowen said.