Morovis National Cemetery

US national cemetery in Morovis, Puerto Rico

18°21′09″N 66°25′32″W / 18.35256°N 66.42547°W / 18.35256; -66.42547TypeVeteransOwned byDepartment of Veteran's Administration (VA)Size247 acres (100 ha)Websitewww.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/morovis.asp

Morovis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the municipality of Morovis, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses 247.5 acres (100.2 ha) of land, and was dedicated in December 2020. This cemetery along with the Puerto Rico National Cemetery located in Bayamón, are the only United States National Cemeteries located inside Puerto Rico.^[1]

The Morovis National Cemetery was built to be operational before the cemetery in Bayamón reached full capacity.^[2]^[3]

History

The Morovis National Cemetery was built in Morovis within a 247.5-acre parcel of land that can be accessed from Highway 137 at Km. 11.2. It was built to replace the existing Puerto Rico National Cemetery located in Bayamón, which would reach its capacity in 2022. It and the cemetery in Bayamón are the only two cemeteries in the United States National Cemetery System located outside the U.S.^[1]^[4]^[5]

The land for the cemetery was purchased by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in 2013 for $7.6 million.^[2]

Construction was underway in 2019^[6]^[7] with interments slated to begin in 2021. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) held a dedication ceremony for the cemetery on December 12, 2020.

Notable interments

The following list has the names of distinguished Puerto Ricans, and non-Puerto Rican veterans who have made Puerto Rico their home, who served in the US military and are interred there.

References

^ ^a ^b "Veterans Affairs". National Cemetery Administration. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Sostre Vicario, Karinna D. "Puerto Rico tendrá dos Cementerios Nacionales". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "VA dedicates Morovis National Cemetery". Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. September 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "Puerto Rico National Cemetery Replacement Morovis, Puerto Rico" (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^ "A claim for better health services". El Nuevo Dia. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
^ "Comienza construcción nuevo cementerio nacional de Puerto Rico en Morovis". www.efe.com (in Spanish). 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
^ "Quality Control (QC) system management for Veterans Affairs (VA)". San Diego Project Management, PSC. 2018-10-29. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2020-08-22.