Elected officials joined about 150 military veterans and active-duty personnel Jan. 30 to dedicate the long-awaited Miramar National Cemetery that will serve as an annex to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. The gathering was part of a momentous groundbreaking ceremony at the new site along Nobel Drive near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Officials expect the 313-acre site to begin interments with full burial services in September, according to Miramar National Cemetery director Kirk Leopard. “Today marks the culmination of 10 years of efforts by the San Diego veterans’ community and the San Diego community as a whole. This is going to provide a service that veterans have needed and wanted for 40 years,” Leopard said. Leopard also serves as director of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Saturday’s ceremony also included the unveiling of a memorial plaque. Currently full, Fort Rosecrans has not taken new interments since 1966. It still takes family members of those currently buried at Fort Rosecrans, however, and has spaces for inurnments. However, the new Miramar National Cemetery will provide full interment and inurnment services for an estimated 235,000 veterans, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The nearest site presently offering full burial services is Riverside National Cemetery. Veteran Angel Aviles said local burial services have been “a long time coming.” Aviles, a Korean and Vietnam war veteran and president of the Military Officers Association of America’s Pendleton Chapter, said he gave away a previously reserved spot at the Arlington National Cemetery about 10 years ago. He currently lives in San Diego with his wife. “This is the proper place to be buried right now,” Aviles said. “And I think this is the greatest thing to ever happen for veterans.” Fred Jacques served 26 years in the Army, doing two tours in Vietnam. He was 16 years old when he enlisted but told the military he was 17 at the time. “Rosecrans is full,” Jacques said, “and when you go ­… this is close to home now. So instead of carrying you across the nation to some other cemetery, why not be buried here in California where you live.” Jacques said he’s been waiting for the opening of the Miramar annex for several years. Alhough the first interments are planned in September, ongoing construction should last several years over six phases, according to Leopard. The first phase of the Miramar site construction would include about 11,500 gravesites with 4,500 “in ground” cremation sites, 10,000 columbarium niches, public assembly areas and administration buildings, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Van Dyke Landscape Architects, a San Diego firm, holds the $961,004 design contract. The day’s ceremony included several retired and active military officials who spoke, along with a keynote address by Steve L. Muro, acting Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs. The ceremony concluded with a rifle salute and a lone bugler playing “taps.”