VA grants UAA $325,000 to research Fort Richardson veterans

Dual-enrolled high school students and University of Alaska Anchorage undergraduates will spend the coming academic year researching veterans interred or memorialized at Fort Richardson National Cemetery, mentored by UAA faculty under a $325,000 federal grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration. The award runs from Aug. 15, 2026 through Aug. 31, 2027, according to the federal award record.

That record shows the grant was signed Aug. 12 and the full amount obligated, with no non-federal match reported. It is one of eight Veterans Legacy grants nationally this cycle, together worth about $2.2 million, and the third largest of them. UAA is the only Alaska recipient among the program's recent awards.

The Veterans Legacy Program funds student research, curriculum, and public memorialization tied to VA cemeteries. UAA's project promises research on veterans, their communities, and the history of service in Alaska; a dedicated memorial on the Anchorage campus where students can display that research and campus veterans can gather; a series on the VA's online Veterans Legacy Memorial; and a walking tour for cemetery patrons.

Fort Richardson National Cemetery sits on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and became a national cemetery under VA administration on May 28, 1984. All but 700 of its 2,000 gravesites had been used or reserved by then, per the VA's cemetery history, which publishes no current total.

A May 18 JBER news release for the Memorial Day ceremony said that outside listed hours, U.S. citizens 16 or older seeking access "should expect criminal background checks for potential disqualifying information and, upon successful screening, will be issued a visitor pass."

The award record names no faculty lead and no student enrollment target.