NCA

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz decided that, in death, he wanted to join his men at Golden Gate with a standard military funeral and regulation headstone. He took steps to assure that the shipmates closest to him during World War II could join him.

Located in Port Huron, Michigan, Lakeside Cemetery Soldiers' Lot memorializes victims of a July 1832 Asiatic cholera outbreak.

Shortly after completing a top-secret delivery of atomic bomb components to Tinian, the USS Indianapolis was struck by torpedo and sank 75 years ago today.

Preserving the legacy of Veterans who lay in unmarked gravesites happens all across the country. In fact, anyone can request a burial headstone or marker if the service of the Veteran ended prior to April 6, 1917.

Our National Cemeteries are stepping up to the challenge of providing service through the pandemic. While we are observant of social distancing and realize the challenges in this environment, we still have a vital service to provide. Our NCA staff members continue our mission to provide an honorable burial service for our Veterans and other eligible members. 

All VA national cemeteries are open and will continue to provide interments for Veterans and eligible individuals. However, effective March 23 — as part of the agency’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) — committal services and the rendering of military funeral honors will discontinue until further notice.

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.

VA’s Knowledge Management (KM) Solution has reached a record 100,000 users who have visited nearly 20,000 KM articles about VA benefits, services, and claims processing. VA's KM is accessible online to Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.

The Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC) is a signature memento the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) provides to next of kin and friends of deceased veterans, and it was the idea of World War II Army veteran Benjamin B. Belfer, who was born on January 21, 1909.

The Louisiana National Cemetery is adding 2,400 crypt spaces for casket burials; a cremation field with 300 burial sites; a committal shelter; an administration building/public information center; two memorial walls; four columbarium walls with 1,000 niches for above-ground cremation inurnments; and a main flag pole assembly area designed for ceremonies.

Edward Lyons recently learned he will join Sarasota National Cemetery in Florida after his graduation from the NCA Cemetery Director Internship Program

There are more than 1,330 monuments in NCA cemeteries. They take many shapes and sizes to honor the service and sacrifice of servicemen and women