| Details | |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1978 |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Calverton, New York |
| Type | Public |
| Owned by | United States Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Size | 1,045 acres (4 km2)) |
| Number of graves | 207,719 through FY 2008 |
| Website | VA Official Site |
| Find a Grave | Findagrave |
| The Political Graveyard | Political graveyard |
Calverton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in eastern Long Island, the hamlet of Wading River, the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York. It encompasses 1,045 acres (4.23 km2) and as of the end of 2008 had 212,000 interments.[1]
It has the largest area of any national cemetery in the United States[2], and the busiest (in terms of daily burials) conducting more than 7,000 burials each year as of 2011.[3]
Contents |
When the National Cemetery System constructed Calverton National Cemetery in 1978, the cemetery became the third national cemetery to be located on Long Island. The other national cemeteries situated on Long Island are Cypress Hills National Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York, which was established in 1862 and Long Island National Cemetery, in Farmingdale, New York, established in 1936.
In 1974, Long Island National Cemetery was the only national cemetery on Long Island with available space for burials—but its maximum burial capacity was soon to be exhausted. As a result, plans were developed by the National Cemetery System to construct a new regional cemetery to serve the greater New York area——home, then, to nearly three million veterans and their dependents. On December 7, 1977, a 902 acre (3.7 km²) tract of land was transferred from the U.S. Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at Calverton to the Veterans Administration for use as a national cemetery.
The National Cemetery System realized that Calverton National Cemetery would become one of its more active cemeteries. For that reason, they designed and built a feature called a committal “wheel” of shelters that permits multiple burial services to be held simultaneously. To the left of the main cemetery entrance, around the Veteran’s Circle, are seven committal shelters. After the funeral service, the caskets are moved into the hub of the wheel and then transported to their respective gravesites. In 1983, the walls of the committal shelters were reconstructed to serve as columbaria for the inurnment of cremated remains.
Calverton National Cemetery features a memorial pathway lined with a variety of memorials that honor America’s veterans. As of 2003, there were 18 memorials here, most commemorating soldiers of 20th century wars.