Massachusetts National Cemetery

GPS Coordinates: 41.673432, -70.582918
County: Barnstable
Record count: 82,371

Ownership: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Directions: Located east of State Route 28 and west of Otis Air National Guard Base, the cemetery lies on the south side of Connery Ave.

Background: Massachusetts National Cemetery was established on Cape Cod adjacent to Otis Air Force Base to serve the Boston area's large veteran population. Following the 1973 National Cemetery Act that transferred Army cemeteries to the Veterans Administration, the VA adopted a regional cemetery concept in 1974, planning one large cemetery within each of the 10 federal regions. Since no new national cemetery had been built in New England since Long Island National Cemetery opened in 1936, the Northeast desperately needed a new facility.

The site selection process identified a 749-acre tract within the 22,000-acre Otis Air Force Base as ideal. In 1976, the Department of Defense transferred title of this land to the VA's National Cemetery System, marking the first land acquisition specifically for a new national cemetery since Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon in 1949. Massachusetts National Cemetery was dedicated on October 11, 1980, becoming only the third new national cemetery to open in nearly 30 years, following Calverton, NY, and Riverside, CA.

Burial Records

• Veterans Affairs Database, by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (82,371 records)

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