As years passed more interments occurred at Custer National Cemetery: including military burials from the Plains Indian Wars, non-battle related deaths from other frontier military forts in the region, and other interments continuing to modern times.

[11] In November 2006 Yellowstone County, Montana, voters approved by a 61 to 39 percent margin, a countywide mil levy to raise monies to build and operate the newly named Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery.

[12] Yellowstone County purchased about 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land from the city of Laurel, fifteen miles west of Billings, for the cemetery.

[13] On 8 December 2008 Glenn L. Butz, veteran, US Army, World War II, was the cemetery's first interment.

The effort centered on showing Veterans Affairs the need for smaller-in-scale national cemeteries for America's predominantly rural states.

Veterans Affairs looked at states lacking a National cemetery with available space for first interments.

The states are Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Maine.

; Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Denver, Colorado; and to the Yellowstone County Board of Commissioners, which read in part, "The name Yellowstone National Cemetery meets VA requirements of location, region, and broad inspiring appeal.

On 26 May 2014 Yellowstone County, Montana, officially donated to Veterans Affairs without financial cost to the federal government, the renamedYellowstone National Cemetery.