GVMC-Glennville

The Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery – Glennville is situated on the 42.6 acre site of the former Dyess Farm, just north of the Glennville, Georgia city limits. It is located along U.S. Highway 301, 25 miles west of the main post of Fort Stewart.

The initial 26-acre phase of the cemetery contains 1,400 pre-placed in-ground double vaults, for eligible veterans, their spouses, and eligible dependents; 766 conventional single-depth sites; 1,384 cremation interment sites, which include a columbarium and in-ground sites; and 429 spaces for memorial markers. These memorial markers are placed in the memory of those veterans whose remains are unavailable for burial.

GVMC–Glennville was dedicated on November 28, 2007, and will eventually be the final resting place for more than 21,000 veterans, their spouses, and eligible dependents. As of December 31, 2019, there were 1,595 veterans, spouses, and family members interred. 

A key feature of the cemetery is the co-location of the Glennville Veterans Service Office in the Administration Building and Visitor Center. This office provides assistance to veterans and their families with applications for veterans benefits and claims. The office provides service to veterans and their families in Bryan, Liberty, Long, Tattnall, and Wayne counties.

In 2019, GVMC–Glennville hosted its annual Memorial Day ceremony to honor veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the Glennville American Legion post and the Glennville Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Lt. Col. Luke Richards, Commander of Fort Stewart’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, was the guest speaker for the ceremony. He took the opportunity to inform the crowd of the importance of Memorial Day as a time to honor today’s soldiers as well as soldiers of the past who have all sacrificed. Cemetery Director Ernie Cowart welcomed the crowd to the cemetery, as over 350 people attended the ceremony during a beautiful spring day.

For Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Boy Scout Troop 929 placed U.S. flags at the gravesites of the veterans interred in the cemetery. In December, the Bonaventure Children of the American Revolution Society, along with the Glennville Faith Riders, and other civic groups sponsored a Wreaths Across America ceremony to place wreaths at all the interment sites in the cemetery. The Air Force JROTC of Effingham County High School took part in the ceremony and provided the color guard. Stephanie Lawless, director of the Toombs County High School Band, performed “Taps.” A crowd of over 400 people attended the ceremony and then helped place wreaths at the graves.

Cemetery staff members remain active in the local community by meeting frequently with civic groups, veterans organizations, and other various groups.

The cemetery is open to families, visitors, and the general public seven days each week from 8 a.m. to dusk.