diff --git a/lisp/vms-patch.el b/lisp/vms-patch.el
index 41dcd99fbcb..107b6b4ef3f 100644
--- a/lisp/vms-patch.el
+++ b/lisp/vms-patch.el
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 
 ;;; Code:
 
+(setq auto-mode-alist (cons '(("\\.com\\'" . dcl-mode)) auto-mode-alist))
+
 ;;; Functions that need redefinition
 
 ;;; VMS file names are upper case, but buffer names are more