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Governor McAuliffe Breaks Ground on New Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center

~128-bed long-term care facility to be built in Virginia Beach~

VIRGINIA BEACH – Governor Terry McAuliffe today broke ground on the new Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center in Virginia Beach.  The 128-bed long-term care and rehabilitation facility will be built on 26 acres located in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach. The new facility is named in honor of Air Force Colonel William A. Jones III and Army Staff Sergeant Christopher F. Cabacoy in honor of their heroic service to the United States.

The Governor was joined at the ceremony by Virginia State Senator John Cosgrove; Delegates Glenn Davis, Chris Stolle, and Ron Villanueva; Virginia Secretary of Veteran and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins; John L. Newby II, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services; Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms and Council Member Barbara Henley; Colonel William Jones’ daughters Elizabeth Hart Jones, Anne Jones Gilfillan, and Mary Lee Jones Kuhn; and Staff Sergeant Cabacoy’s wife Tami Cabacoy, son Aidan Cabacoy, parents Dennis and Carmelita Cabacoy, and other members of the Cabacoy family.

“I am proud to be here today to break ground on the new Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care center, named for two Tidewater natives, who bravely served both Virginia and our nation,” said Governor McAuliffe. “A top priority for my administration has been to make Virginia the most veteran-friendly state in the nation, and by building this new care center in Hampton Roads we are keeping that promise. This new 128-bed facility will provide veterans, who call Hampton Roads home, with the skilled nursing, Alzheimer’s and memory care, and short-term rehabilitative services that they deserve.”

“It is another great day in the Commonwealth as we honor our veterans’ service with the groundbreaking of the new Jones and Cabacoy Veterans Care Center,” said Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins. “This bipartisan effort led by Governor McAuliffe and members of our General Assembly will ensure that our veterans who require long-term care receive top notch services in a state of the art facility. It is also a great way to honor the service and sacrifice of two great Virginia families, the Jones and Cabacoy families.”

“The new Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center will provide top-quality care to Virginia veterans in a beautiful home-like setting here in Virginia Beach,” said John L. Newby II, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services. “It confirms and demonstrates the Commonwealth’s continued dedication and commitment to serving our veterans and their families.”

“We are proud that Virginia Beach was chosen for the new veterans care center,” said William D. Sessoms, Jr., Mayor of the City of Virginia Beach. “The thousands of active duty service members, family members, and veterans who live and work here are a critical part of this community.  This new care center will provide exceptional service to those who have worn the cloth of our country.”

When completed in 2020, the Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center will be one of four veterans care centers in Virginia.  A groundbreaking ceremony was held October 26 for the new Puller Veterans Care Center, which will be constructed simultaneously in Fauquier County. These two new care centers join the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke, opened in 1992, and the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond, opened in 2007.  All are operated by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. To learn more about these facilities, visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.

About the Jones and Cabacoy Legacy
Colonel William A. Jones, III
 was born in Norfolk, Va. He graduated from West Point in1945 and then transferred to the newly formed U.S. Air Force. He served in the Vietnam War with distinction and received the Medal of Honor for acts of conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action when, in 1968, he went on a rescue mission to retrieve a fellow pilot, took on enemy fire, managed to return to base safely, and conveyed all information to save the pilot before seeking medical treatment for himself. Jones died in an airplane accident near Woodbridge, Va. in 1969.

Army Staff Sergeant Christopher F. Cabacoy was a Virginia Beach native. He graduated from Tallwood High School in 1997 and studied engineering at Old Dominion University before joining the U.S. Army in 2000. He served 10 years with distinction in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division based at Ft. Drum, N.Y. He died on July 5, 2010 when insurgents in Kandahar attacked his vehicle with a homemade bomb.