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1 1 (November 14, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbsr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: _ M t .......... 10 , yg\\ y gmm, Ngm 0 ILI November 14, 2019 Defense Primer: Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) is a military cemetery administered by the Department of the Army. On June 15, 1864, the War Department appropriated the burial site as a military cemetery. Located in Arlington County, Virginia, the cemetery was created in 1864 during the Civil War from 200 acres of plantation land that once belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, step-grandson of the first U.S. President. Custis bequeathed his estate to his daughter who had married U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee in 1831. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, the Custis Lee family fled the property. The Union Army then occupied and fortified the estate to help defend the nation's capital. In 1863, the Freedman's Village was established on the southern portion of the property to assist former slaves transitioning to freedom by providing shelter, medical care, education and training. The first military burial took place Table I. Current Eligibility Requirements for Burial and on May 13, 1864, for Private William Henry Christman, 20, a Union soldier from Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania. Two Unknown Union Soldiers were later interred on May 15, 1864, the first of nearly 5,000 Unknowns now resting in ANC. By the end of the Civil War, the grounds contained the graves of 6,000 Union soldiers. On March 3, 1883, the U.S. government purchased the property for $150,000 after years of legal wrangling with the Custis Lee family. Current Eligibility Eligibility criteria for burial at Arlington is in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 32, Part 553, Sections 12 and 13. In FY2018, ANC buried approximately 6,500 servicemembers, veterans and eligible family members. See Table 1. Inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery Inurnment in Columbarium Court In-ground burial Servicemember with Honorable Discharge or Niche Wall (Casket or Urn) Dies on Title 10 Federal Active Duty (other than for training) Yes Yes Dies on Active Duty for training only under Title 10 Yes No Veteran - Retired from active duty; reserve retirees receiving retirement pay Yes Yes Veteran - At least one day active duty other than for training Yes No Veteran - Received Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross (Air Force Yes Yes Cross, or Navy Cross), Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, or Purple Heart. Any member of a Reserve component of the Armed Forces, and any member Yes No of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, whose death occurs under honorable conditions while on active duty for training or performing full-time service. Any former prisoner of war who, while a prisoner of war, served honorably in Yes Yes the active military, naval, or air service; whose last period of service terminated honorably; and who died on or after November 30, 1993. Source: Arlington National Cemetery Eligibility Fact Sheet, as of July 1, 2017, at: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Portals/0/Docs/Eligibilty- Fact-Sheet-20170701 .pdf and http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Funerallnformation/EstablishServices.aspx. Proposed Chngesto Eligiblity On September 25, 2019, the Army recommended changes to the eligibility for in-ground burial and above-ground inurnment at Arlington Cemetery, limiting it to certain groups. Acting Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, made the announcement indicating that the changes will allow the cemetery to continue to function as an active burial ground well into the future, defined as 150 years. Without the new eligibility restrictions, Arlington would reach capacity for new interment by 2050. Fewer than 95,000 burial spaces remain within the current cemetery. The Acting Army Secretary suggested the following revised eligibility criteria: Proposed for n-Ground n * Servicemembers killed in action, to include repatriated remains; * ANC to preserve 1,000 gravesites for current and future MoH recipients; * Award recipients of the Silver Star and above who also served in combat;

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