Willamette National Cemetery


Willamette National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon located about southeast of downtown. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses straddling the county line between Multnomah and Clackamas Counties. As of 2021, there had been 188,000 interments. It is one of three national cemeteries in Oregon. On July 5, 2016, the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is built on top of a wide Boring Lava Field cone.

History

Plans to create a military cemetery in the Portland area started as early as 1941, and Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill to establish a national cemetery, but the necessary money to acquire the land was never allocated. Finally, in 1949 the state of Oregon donated of land for the establishment of a National Cemetery. Construction was completed in 1950, and Willamette National Cemetery was officially opened on December 14 that year. The first interment did not take place until 1951. In 1952, another of land were donated to the cemetery.
Willamette National Cemetery is a Blue Star Memorial Highway site.

Notable monuments

  • A Korean War Memorial, dedicated to the 283 people from Oregon who fought and died in that war.

Notable interments