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Updated March  16, 2021


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.
  Currently, there are approximately 400,000 veterans and
  their eligible dependents buried at Arlington Cemetery.

  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. 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 (MoH), Distinguished Service Cross (Air      Yes                   Yes
 Force 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 Establishing Eligibility at https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Portals/0/Docs/Eligibilty-Fact-Sheet-
20170701.pdf and in accordance with 32 CFR Part 553, Sections 12 and 13.


Proposed Changes to Eligibility
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 as required in Section 598 of P.L. 115-232, the John
S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
for FY2019. The announcement  indicated 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.

Proposed   Eligibility for In-Ground Interment:
*  Servicemembers  killed in action, to include repatriated
   remains;
  Current and future MoH recipients (ANC to preserve
   1,000 gravesites);
  Recipients of the Silver Star;
  Recipients of the Purple Heart;


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