Fort Jackson will be home to South Carolina’s third national cemetery, federal officials said Friday.

The post is an appropriate site because it’s “the crossroads where — since 1917 — American soldiers have served with great dignity and pride,” said William Tuerk, a Veterans Affairs undersecretary.

Tuerk made the announcement before Friday’s Veterans Day parade in downtown Columbia as blue skies and warm temperatures greeted crowds that lined Sumter Street.

“This, to me, is an extraordinary day,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.

Making the announcement on Veterans Day was significant, Wilson said, because his predecessor, the late U.S. Rep. Floyd Spence, laid the groundwork for the Fort Jackson cemetery.

A Korean War veteran and retired Navy Reserve captain, Spence was a former chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. The Lexington Republican died in 2001.

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said Friday’s announcement “completes the circle” for the armed services and Columbia.

“We’ve always had such a close relationship with the military, and now we have this ultimate piece in honoring our servicemen,” Coble said.

Having a national cemetery on the post also should enhance Fort Jackson’s value as a military installation, Coble said, noting a cemetery is a permanent commitment.

Fort Jackson has long been in the running as a site for the cemetery, expected to cost about $20 million.

It was one of three S.C. sites the VA considered. Other sites were in Whitmire in Newberry County and Sedalia in Union County. In March, the VA said Fort Jackson was its top pick.

Fort Jackson’s location in the Midlands made it attractive. About a third of the state’s 419,000 veterans live within an hour’s drive of Columbia; some 59,000 reside in Lexington and Richland counties.

Also, the land is free. The Army will transfer the property to the VA as fast as a team of lawyers can make it happen, Tuerk said.

Design work should begin this year and construction should start in 2008, Tuerk said. The cemetery should be ready for burials by 2009, he added.

The cemetery will be on the northern edge of Fort Jackson, along Percival Road, between Spears Creek and Wildcat roads.

Fort Jackson will join Florence and Beaufort as homes to national cemeteries operated by the federal government. Last January, the VA also awarded $5.2 million for the construction of a 57-acre, state-run veterans cemetery in Anderson.

Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.