National Cemeteries

Every eligible Veteran deserves a dignified burial and memorialization to commemorate their service.

Volunteers interested in cleaning headstones in national cemeteries can sign up for a National Day of Service to be held in 65 locations Sept. 10. All volunteers interested in participating in the “National Day of Service” should sign up at Carry the Load register.

Remembering the fallen means honoring the nation’s unfinished work, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia May 28.

For the third year in a row, Carry The Load is partnering with VA’s national cemeteries to honor and remember America’s heroes during Memorial May.

VA Secretary Robert L. Wilkie said while COVID-19 scaled down Wreaths Across America events, they still ensure people remember Veterans.

Volunteers are returning to national cemeteries under certain circumstances, following strict COVID-19 guidance. More than 40 volunteers displayed the new policies during an event Sept. 19 at Culpeper National Cemetery in Virginia. A group from a local Latter-day Saints church cleaned headstones while wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

Jo Ann K. Webb’s service as an Army nurse in Vietnam led to a career centered on Veteran-health policy and politics. In 1989, at age 41 with a slim portfolio, she was named Director of the National Cemetery System (now Administration). Webb became the highest-ranking woman at the Veterans Administration for two years, and one of only two women to head the organization. In an oral history interview made for Women’s History Month, Webb didn’t recall that her lofty position was a big deal at the time--but it was.

From April 25 through May 22, NCA is partnering with Carry The Load to honor Veterans leading up to Memorial Day.

San Francisco State University, Black Hills State University and University of Central Florida will conduct cemetery research and produce educational material for K-12 schools and the general public in an effort to promote community engagement with Veterans’ history.

This summer, VA is renewing our commitment to America’s Veterans, and we’re asking for our partners’ help in honoring that commitment, such as cleaning our National Cemetery grounds and headstones.

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.”