ROCKY HILL, CONN. (April 29, 2026)–Ahead of Memorial Day 2026, the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) is breathing “new life” into the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown. By adding new 4’ x 4’ in-ground plots for cremains, the department has successfully extended the cemetery’s capacity, buying more time to find a suitable site for a brand-new state veterans cemetery.

In an April 8, 2026 interview on CT Vets ConneCT, the official podcast of the CT Department of Veterans Affairs, DVA Commissioner Ronald P. Welch said, “we have a lot of exciting news in relation to the cemetery.”

Welch said, “We were able to identify a piece of property towards—as you look at the front of the cemetery on Bow Lane —there’s a parcel to the immediate right where there’s an old cottage that is very run-down. It’s a little bit, it’s 6/10ths of an acre. So, we’re in the process right now of doing all the design. We’ll be taking down that cottage. And this will provide us approximately five more years of time of usage.”

First reported on Veterans Day 2025, sources indicated that Connecticut Valley Hospital Cottage 22 was nearing approval for demolition and would create additional space for an estimated 1,500 four-by-four foot cremains burial plots.

Cottage 22 is individually listed on the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Historic Resource Inventory as a colonial revival style built in 1950. For full details, look here: (https://ctmaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ddd39a67a714449d8ad60467d10fcedd)  

Additionally, this action should provide the DVA and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) crucial extra time to find and develop a new location for a state veterans cemetery.

Welch said, “We’re working very closely with our partner agency the Department of Administrative Services. They have a property procurement team. We put in a request for proposal out quite some time ago for somewhere between 50 and 100 acres of buildable, space for a new cemetery. We’re getting close to the final stretch we hope with a great parcel. I can’t discuss any of the specifics while the negotiations are underway but we think this could come together. This would be a very long-term solution if this works out.”

MEMORIAL DAY “FLAGS IN”

First spotted on Connecticut Veterans Bulletin (ctvetsbulletin.org), 2026 Memorial Day “Flags In” is slated for 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Volunteers are needed to help place over 13,000 flags at Veteran headstones. No RSVP or registration required.