The South Dakota Veterans Council began campaigning for a new cemetery to be built that would be more accessible for them.

[3] The land for the cemetery was donated by the City of Sioux Falls, totalling 60 acres (24 ha).

[3] This land was part of a more than 600-acre (240 ha) undeveloped parcel, which had previously been leased out to farmers or was otherwise undisturbed.

Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden, himself a veteran; state representative Dusty Johnson; Greg Whitlock, the SDDVA secretary; and Terry Paulsen, president of the South Dakota Veterans Council, spoke at the event.

[3] An estimated 500 to 600 people, including active and retired military service members and their families, attended the ceremony.