The AP notes that as the nation prepares to celebrate Memorial Day tomorrow, veteran burials are at a record high:
An average of 1,800 veterans die each day, and 10 percent of them are buried in the country’s 125 national cemeteries, which are expected to set a record with 107,000 interments, including dependents, this year. And more national cemeteries are being built.
The peak year for veterans’ deaths will be either 2007 or 2008, [Bill Tuerk, under secretary for memorial affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] said. An estimated 686,000 veterans died in 2007. While many World War II veterans are dying, so are an increased number of Korean War and Vietnam veterans.
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