Memorial Affairs

Eight cemetery director interns successfully completed the training and will now serve as assistant directors to national cemeteries across the nation.

Faculty and students at UC Riverside are launching a sweeping initiative that encourages K-12 students to document the histories of Veterans interred at Riverside National Cemetery.

Pfc. Arnold Harrison, a Detroit teenager who went missing in action in 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa in World War II, is finally home, near his family.

Randy Reeves, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs tells us about his service, losing a close friend and how that keeps him inspired to serve Veterans.

Over the last two years, Sharp has organized the placement of more than 40,000 flags and red carnations at cemeteries, including Quantico National Cemetery in September 2017 and Eagle Point National Cemetery in December 2017.

“Everyone was ready to get back to work. Everyone wanted to continue our mission as quickly as possible.”

Since the program began over 70 years ago, more than 3,000 Blue Star markers of all three types have been dedicated across the country, including markers in all nine national cemeteries in the state of Florida.

I have known a young soldier from the Bronx who ran out into an open field to save one of his brothers lying wounded on the battlefield. I have seen a soldier sacrifice his own life when he threw his fellow soldier to the ground and used his own body to protect him from the full blast of a rocket propelled grenade. These men were heroes.

An important change to VA memorial benefits allows Veterans and their family members to find out in advance if they are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery.

The National Cemetery Administration’s Mobile Veteran Outreach Vehicle toured Florida recently in an effort to educate Veterans and their families on VA Memorial Benefits. The NCA outreach team took their campaign to the South Florida and Florida State Fairs in February and partnered with the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates during Major League Baseball’s Spring Training in March, to reach Veterans on their terms. Staff and volunteers representing South Florida, Cape Canaveral, Bay Pines, Tallahassee, and Florida National Cemeteries helped to support the events along with VA Central Office staff.

he National Cemetery Administration receives requests periodically to use its cemeteries for television and movie filming. “Since national cemeteries are located across the country and are as picturesque as the Army’s Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, production companies often find it easier to film on location at one of the VA’s cemeteries,” said Mike Nacincik, chief of the National Cemetery Administration’s Communications and Outreach Support Division. “Filming requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and productions must agree to maintain the dignity and respect of the cemetery.”

A look at the Beaufort National Cemetery and the African-American soldiers in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry regiment.