Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery

GPS Coordinates: 29.476829, -98.432748
County: Bexar
Record count: 174,906

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

Directions: Located within the north part of Fort Sam Houston Joint Base, the cemetery's main entrance lies on the east side of Harry Wurzbach Rd at the intersection with Arvin Dr.

Background: Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery was established during the interwar expansion of the National Cemetery System between 1934 and 1939, though its roots trace back to a post cemetery created in 1924, with the first burial in 1926. When San Antonio National Cemetery reached capacity, the War Department transferred 60 acres from Fort Sam Houston on August 6, 1931, designating it as a national cemetery annex; it was renamed Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in 1937. During World War II, the cemetery became the burial site for Axis prisoners of war, whose graves were initially separated but later integrated with U.S. service members as the cemetery expanded. Additional reinterments from closed Texas frontier posts occurred in 1947, and by the late twentieth century the cemetery grew to roughly 338 acres, making it one of the largest national cemeteries, with capacity to remain open for decades.

Burial Records

• Veterans Affairs Database, by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (174,906 records)

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