What to know about Arlington National Cemetery – by Guide Allen McCabe
Today, Arlington National Cemetery is 639 acres and is the final resting place of nearly 420,000. Approximately 320,000 are in-ground burials and 100,000 are cremated remains ‘inurned’ in the Columbarium or in the Niche Wall at the eastern edge of the cemetery.
In-ground burials can be either body or cremated remains.
The 320,000 number also includes thousands of ‘In Memory’ headstones for our missing in action. The family can elect to have their missing in action remembered with a headstone.
Arlington is the largest U.S. Military cemetery in the world – not by size, but by the number interred or inurned here – 420,000. There is currently a ‘waiting list’ to be interred or inurned here – up to 16 months. The VA maintains 155 national military cemeteries in 42 states. In addition, 218,000 Americans are buried in 25 overseas military cemeteries managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
On average, there are 20-30 funerals per weekday. Saturdays average 5. No funerals on Sundays or Federal Holidays. There are approximately 6,500 funerals per year.
Arlington Cemetery is expected to run out of space for in-ground funerals by 2040 at the current rate. An expansion plan is underway at the southern end of the cemetery at the Air Force Memorial to secure an additional 50 acres. It is believed this will add another 20 years for available burial space – to 2060.
The property:
Originally purchased by John Custis – the son of Martha and Daniel Custis, in 1778. Martha had 4 children, including John – the oldest. Daniel would later pass away, and Martha remarried – George Washington! George and Martha never had children of their own – but they raised the 2 surviving children of Martha and Daniel Custis – John and his sister Patsy.
John Custis willed the property to his oldest son – George Washington Custis. He was Martha’s grandson. The land was placed in trust until George Washington Custis turned 21, in 1802.
George Washington Custis had the home built here by his enslaved people – to be a memorial and museum to his step-grandfather – George Washington. It also served as the home to him and his family. It is referred to as ‘Arlington House’ or the ‘Custis Mansion’.
The daughter of George Washington Custis was Mary. She inherited the property and home in 1857 following the death of her father. Mary had fallen in love and married an officer in the United States Army – Robert E. Lee. Mary Custis was Martha’s great-granddaughter. Mary and Robert E. Lee lived in the house from 1831 – 1861.
When the Civil War broke out, Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and joined the Confederacy. The Lee’s left the house in May 1861 and never returned. The United States Army used the house as a headquarters during the Civil War. Union Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs proposed using some of the Custis’ property as a cemetery for Union dead. Congress approved. The first military grave – William Christman – 13-May 1864. More than 16,000 Union graves were here by the end of the war. Today, the house is managed by the National Park Service. It has been restored to look as it did when Robert E. Lee and Mary Lee lived here. The house is open for self-guided tours. The view from the front porch over the city of Washington is nothing short of incredible. The house is NOT called the ‘Lee Mansion’. Lee never owned it.
After the Civil War, Lee’s children tried to get the property back from the government. They claimed it had been illegally taken. During the War, Mary Lee did not pay her taxes ($92.07) on the property – in person – as was required by the law. The Lee children took the case to court where it finally reached the United States Supreme Court. The court ruled 5-4 that the land and house had been illegally taken by the government and had to be returned in the condition it was found. That would have meant removing 16,000 Union dead! The family settled for $150,000 (nearly $5 million in today’s money) from the government and the land was officially signed over to the United States in 1883.
The cemetery is smaller than the original 1,100 acres purchased by John Custis – because the Pentagon was built on the southeastern corner of the property and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on the western edge. Military funerals typically include a casket detail (pallbearers) of 8 service members, an American flag which is folded and presented to the family, a 3-round volley of 7 rifles (technically NOT a 21-gun salute) and the playing of ‘Taps’. Higher ranking individuals can receive additional honors – such as a horse-drawn caisson, a marching band, a platoon honor guard, a riderless horse, a ‘fly-over’ of aircraft, and for Generals/Admirals – a 105 mm artillery salvo. Servicemembers killed in action receive certain higher military honors, regardless of rank.
The 21-gun salute is reserved for a National Flag, the President, former President, and President-elect and heads of state The 21-gun salute started with the British Navy. A ship would fire 7 canons – leaving it temporarily unarmed – when entering a friendly port. The land forces, which could fire 3 times as rapidly as navy forces – returned the salute with 21 guns. Emptying your guns was the highest form of respect.
Though Arlington National Cemetery is managed by the Department of the Army, all branches of service are welcomed here…Marines, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and the newly formed Space Force. Each branch provides its own service members for the funeral services for that branch. Arlington and The Soldiers and Airman’s Home Cemetery in DC are the only military cemeteries managed by the Army.
An organization entitled ‘Arlington Ladies’ provides a representative at every funeral in the cemetery. Started in 1948 by the wife of the Secretary of the Air Force, Gladys Vandenberg (Vandenberg Air Force Base is named for her husband Hoyt Vandenberg) she did not want any service member to be buried without someone there to mourn their loss. She had noted that some service members were being buried with no family or friends at the service. Arlington Ladies are there at all funerals – except Marines. The Marines send their own representative to every Marine funeral.
When the enslaved people on the plantation were freed, a portion of the cemetery was set aside for them to live. Called ‘Freemans Village’, thousands of formerly enslaved people from all over the south lived there until 1900. The small town contained shops, churches, a school, and more. It was a place for former slaves to get a new start. These formerly enslaved people buried their dead on the property.
The cemetery was segregated by color until 1948 – when President Harry Truman desegregated the military.
Near the entrance to the cemetery is the ‘Military Women’s Memorial’ and museum, which opened in 1997. It is open the same days as the cemetery. This museum traces the support and participation of over 3 million women who have served in the military back to the Revolutionary War days. It includes a theatre which can be rented out for events, restrooms and of course a gift shop. Great museum!
More than 150 ‘In Memory’ memorial stones can be found throughout the cemetery – honoring various military groups, journalists, Gold Star mothers, and specific events such as the loss of the nuclear submarine the ‘Thresher’ with 129 aboard.
In the early 20th century, more than 400 Confederate soldiers’ remains were disinterred from area cemeteries and battlefields in reinterred here in Arlington – as an act of reconciliation. These graves are in Section 16. Unlike the straight rows in most of the cemeteries, the Confederate graves are in concentric circles – and have pointed tops to the gravestones. The Confederate Memorial – dedicated in 1914 – was ordered removed from the cemetery by Congress – and it was taken out in December 2023.
Eligibility for in ground burial at Arlington is much tighter than other U.S. Military cemeteries. This is MY interpretation of the guidelines. Arlington management should be consulted for ‘official’ requirements and eligibility:
An ‘Honorable’ discharge is a must – in virtually every case for consideration. This is the start point. Then…..
If you die while on active duty, you’re eligible.
If you have retired from active duty after 20 years, or 25 years in the reserves with a tour of active duty, you’re eligible.
If you were wounded in combat and awarded a Purple Heart, you’re eligible.
If your heroism in battle earned you a Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross/Navy Cross/Coast Guard Cross/Air Force Cross, or Medal of Honor, you’re eligible.
If you are a former Prisoner of War, you’re eligible.
If you have served in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, Ambassador, Senior Cabinet Member, Supreme Court Justice, President, or VP – AND served a tour of active duty, you’re eligible.
These are requirements for in-ground burial of cremated remains or body burial.
For cremated remains to be inurned in the Columbarium or Niche Wall – above ground – the general requirement is ‘Veteran with an Honorable Discharge’.
The waiting list for interment or inurnment at Arlington can be as much as 16 months.
Generally, if someone is eligible so is their spouse and/or dependent children.
Arlington has generally instituted a ‘1 family, 1 grave’ policy. If a service member is eligible, their spouse and dependent children are eligible. But only 1 grave site and 1 headstone can be used. Graves are double stacked rather than side by side. Dependent children would be cremated with urns buried next to the casket. Eligible service member info on the front of the stone, family members listed on the back.
Since 2017, Arlington has required every new grave to have a standard white, government issued headstone. Custom head stones are no longer permitted. They take up too much room – and require too much maintenance.
The standard government-issue white marble headstones come from the Vermont Granite Company in Barre, Vermont. Headstones – and niche covers for the cremated remains in the Columbarium can contain: a religious symbol, name, state, branch of service, rank, conflicts served in, any military honors achieved, date of birth/death. Families may now include a personal statement such as ‘Beloved Son’ or ‘Always in our hearts’ – these are examples. The Medal of Honor, if awarded, can also be engraved on the stone. There are more than 400 Medal of Honor recipients interred or inurned in Arlington.
Americans are interred in Arlington from all of America’s wars – back to the Revolutionary War. Though this started to become a cemetery in 1864, some dead from earlier wars (Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War) were disinterred from original cemeteries and reinterred here at Arlington.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated on Veterans Day 1921. The graves of the unknowns from WWII and Korea were both interred on Memorial Day 1958. The unknown from Vietnam was interred on Memorial Day in 1984. In 1998, some individuals figured out who was in the Tomb for Vietnam. It forced the Department of Defense to open the Tomb. DNA evidence confirmed it was an Air Force pilot named Michael Blassie. Blassie is buried in the Jefferson Barracks Cemetery near St. Louis. The Vietnam tomb is empty.
The Tomb Guards are service members with the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment – stationed at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on the western edge of the cemetery. Becoming a Tomb Guard is considered one of the highest honors in the Army. Candidates must have impeccable service records, be in excellent physical condition, and go through an extensive training program lasting 8-12 months. Since 1948, less than 750 have been Tomb Guards. We believe there are currently about 30-40 Tomb Guards. Guards have told me they typically will spend 3 years as a Guard. There are currently at least 3 female Tomb Guards. Until recently, women were not assigned Infantry roles in the Army – thus there were not women in the candidate pool. That has changed as women are now eligible for virtually every military role.
The Tomb has been guarded by the 3rd Infantry Regiment – the ‘Old Guard’ since 1948. It’s a 24-hour a day responsibility. The guards march 21 steps in honor of a 21-gun salute – our nation’s highest military recognition. They pause 21-seconds, then march 21 steps. Rain, snow, cold, hot, night and day. A shift is 1 hour ‘on the mat’ in the winter months, 30 minutes in the summer. The Sentinels wear no rank on their sleeves – to never outrank the Unknowns. They carry M-14’s. They are not loaded. The rifle is always carried on the shoulder away from the Tomb. The commander of the relief carries a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic – with a 21-round magazine – again, in honor of a 21-gun salute. The pistol grip has wooden inlays – the wood comes from the USS Olympia – the ship which brought the remains of the WWI unknown from France to the United States in 1921. Tomb Guards work in 24-hour shifts. They have temporary barracks beneath the Memorial Amphitheater. About 10-12 Tomb Guards will do all the Guard changes during a 24-hour period, then be relieved by the next shift.
The Memorial Amphitheater was dedicated in May 1920 to accommodate large public ceremonies. The top outer ring of the Amphitheater lists America’s major battles from the Revolutionary War through the Spanish American War. On either side of the rostrum inside the Amphitheater are lists of America’s famous generals and admirals. It only goes through the Spanish American war – because WWI had not begun for America when the groundbreaking occurred in 1915. Note that the designers list no Confederate generals or admirals.
Major ceremonies – visitors can place a flower at the Tomb of the Unknown on Memorial Day. Wreaths are placed at every grave in December. An American flag is placed at every grave for Memorial Day. There are ceremonies in the Amphitheater on Veterans Day and Memorial Day – frequently attended by the President.
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