Updated March 16, 2021
Defense Primer: Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) is a military cemetery
on May 13, 1864, for Private William Henry Christman, 20,
administered by the Department of the Army. On June 15,
a Union soldier from Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania. Two
1864, the War Department appropriated the burial site as a
Unknown Union Soldiers were later interred on May 15,
military cemetery. Located in Arlington County, Virginia,
1864, the first of nearly 5,000 Unknowns now resting in
the cemetery was created in 1864 during the Civil War from
ANC. By the end of the Civil War, the grounds contained
200 acres of plantation land that once belonged to George
the graves of 6,000 Union soldiers. On March 3, 1883, the
Washington Parke Custis, step-grandson of the first U.S.
U.S. government purchased the property for $150,000 after
President. Custis bequeathed his estate to his daughter who
years of legal wrangling with the Custis Lee family.
had married U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee in 1831. At
Currently, there are approximately 400,000 veterans and
the start of the Civil War in 1861, the Custis Lee family
their eligible dependents buried at Arlington Cemetery.
fled the property. The Union Army then occupied and
fortified the estate to help defend the nation’s capital. In
Current Eligibility
1863, the Freedman’s Village was established on the
Eligibility criteria for burial at Arlington is in accordance
southern portion of the property to assist former slaves
with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 32, Part
transitioning to freedom by providing shelter, medical care,
553, Sections 12 and 13. See Table 1.
education and training. The first military burial took place
Table 1. Current Eligibility Requirements for Burial and 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
reach capacity for new interment by 2050. Fewer than
95,000 burial spaces remain within the current cemetery.
On September 25, 2019, the Army recommended changes
to the eligibility for in-ground burial and above-ground
Proposed Eligibility for In-Ground Interment:
inurnment at Arlington Cemetery, limiting it to certain
groups as required in Section 598 of P.L. 115-232, the John
Servicemembers killed in action, to include repatriated
S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
remains;
for FY2019. The announcement indicated that the changes
Current and future MoH recipients (ANC to preserve
will allow the cemetery to continue to function as an active
1,000 gravesites);
burial ground “well into the future,” defined as 150 years.
Recipients of the Silver Star;
Without the new eligibility restrictions, Arlington would
Recipients of the Purple Heart;
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Defense Primer: Arlington National Cemetery
Those who died in combat-related service deaths while
Millennium Project
conducting uniquely military activities;
The latest expansion has been termed the Millennium
Former POWs;
Project. Conceived in 1990s, the $81.7 million undertaking
was the first geographic expansion of the cemetery in four
Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States; and
decades. The 27 additional acres in the northwestern part of
Veterans with combat service who also served out of
the cemetery were allocated from a construction staging
uniform as government officials and made significant
area for the cemetery, and recreation land from nearby Fort
contributions to the nation's security at the highest levels
Myer and National Park Service woodland. The U.S. Army
of public service.
Corps of Engineers and several contractors started
construction in 2013, and the completed project was
Proposed Eligibility for Above-Ground Inurnment:
dedicated on September 7, 2018. Two unknown soldiers
World War II-era veterans, to include legislated active
from the Civil War were buried to mark the first in-ground
duty designees;
burial at the site. According to ANC, Millennium provides
Retirees from the armed forces who are eligible to
27,282 new interment spaces that are located either above
receive retired pay but are not otherwise eligible for
or below ground and the columbarium offers 16,400 above-
interment;
ground niches for cremated remains.
Veterans who have served a minimum of two years on
Southern Expansion
active duty and who have served in combat; and
The Army plans to expand ANC southward starting in 2020
Veterans without combat service who also served out of
to envelop the site of the old Navy Annex building that was
uniform as government officials and made significant
demolished in 2013, adding 37 acres of burial space.
contributions to the nation's security at the highest levels
Section 2105 of the National Defense Authorization Act
of public service.
(NDAA) for FY2019 increased the authorization from $30
The Army Department published a proposed rule on
million to $60 million for Arlington extension projects. For
September 15, 2020, in the Federal Register for public
more, see “Arlington National Cemetery” in CRS Report
comment that closed on November 16, 2020. The Army
R45343, FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act:
plans to consider the public comments and publish the final
Selected Military Personnel Issues.
rule. According to the Army, revised eligibility at ANC will
not affect previously scheduled burial services. In addition,
the proposed revisions will not affect veterans’ burial
Relevant Statutes
benefits or veteran eligibility at Department of Veterans
38 U.S.C. §2410. Burial of cremated remains in Arlington
Affairs (VA) national cemeteries or state veterans
National Cemetery.
cemeteries.
38 U.S.C. §2411. Prohibition against interment or
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (TUS)
memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or
Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing Federal
On November 11, 2021, Arlington will mark the centennial
or State capital crimes.
commemoration of the TUS which was dedicated on
November 11, 1921, to mark the grave of an American
Related CRS Reports
unknown soldier from WWI. In August 1956, President
Eisenhower approved the selection and interment of
CRS Report R44426, Military Funeral Honors for Veterans.
Unknowns from both World War II and Korea, and in May
CRS Report R41386, Veterans’ Benefits: Burial Benefits and
1984 President Reagan interred a Vietnam War Unknown.
National Cemeteries.
In 1998, DNA testing confirmed that the Unknown Soldier
from the Vietnam War was Air Force 1st Lt. Michael
Joseph Blassie, who was later reinterred at the National
Sources
Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. On September 17, 1999,
Arlington National Cemetery. “Acting Secretary of the Army
National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the Vietnam tomb
announces proposed changes to eligibility criteria for burial at
was rededicated to honor all missing U.S. service members
Arlington National Cemetery,” Arlington News, 9/25/2019.
from the Vietnam War. See the Centennial
Arlington National Cemetery. “Proposed Revised Eligibility
Commemoration Program at
Criteria,” https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/About/Proposed-
https://arlingtoncemetery.mil/TUS-100.Expansion Plans
Revised-Eligibility-Criteria, and “Scheduling a Funeral Service”
at https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Funerals/Scheduling-a-
ANC occupies almost 625 acres of land in Arlington
Funeral.
County, Virginia, and is the final resting place of more than
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Southern Expansion site at
400,000 servicemembers and their eligible family members.
https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Military-
Since its inception, ANC has expanded to meet the demand
Construction/ANCSouthernExpansion/.
for more burial space. The latest expansions are the recently
completed Millennium Project and the planned Southern
Expansion project.
Barbara Salazar Torreon, Senior Research Librarian
IF11362
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Defense Primer: Arlington National Cemetery
Disclaimer
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11362 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED