National Cemetery Administration
NCA marks 50 years (1973-2023)
The National Cemetery Administration marks
50 years (1973-2023) of serving America's
Veterans, Service Members, and Families.
VA celebrates 50 years of the NCA
VA commemorated NCA's 50th anniversary in a ceremony on September 21, 2023, at the newly-renamed National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico.
Since 1973, NCA has ensured that Veterans, service members, and their families are honored with a final resting place that pays tribute to their service. Over the last 50 years, NCA has developed and expanded burial and memorial options, so that more Veterans and their families can utilize their earned memorial benefits.
Photo Album
VANGUARD Magazine
NCA is honoring five decades of service with a commemorative edition of the VANGUARD magazine. In it you'll find photographs depicting the last 50 years and articles highlighting NCA employees' innovation and service to Veterans.
Here's a sample of stories inside:
- VA Secretary Denis McDonough leads off the issue with an interview with an award-winning assistant director at Riverside National Cemetery in California
- A mother's final farewell to her soldier son
- Reflections of two employees who have served at the National Memorial of the Pacific for a combined 88 years
- Nurturing future leaders in the Cemetery Director Training program
- How NCA is preserving Veteran legacies in private cemeteries
Events
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| 7/3/2023 (7:30 pm) | Concert for Heroes | Riverside National Cemetery (CA) |
| Concert for Heroes: Performance by the Riverside Philharmonic and a fireworks show. | ||
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 7/29/2023 (11:00 am - 1:30 pm) | Open House | Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (IL) |
| Open House: Participants from the Illinois National Guard, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and other community stakeholders. | ||
Our Mission
To honor Veterans, Service Members, and their eligible family members with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service and sacrifice to our nation.
| 155 national cemeteries |
82 open to all interments |
20 open to interments of cremated remains only |
| 3.83 million maintained graves |
628,746 developed gravesites available |
356,873 gravesites available for casketed remains |
115,115 in-ground gravesites for cremated remains |
156,758 columbarium niches for cremated remains |
Burial Benefits
Burial benefits available include a gravesite in any of the VA national cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a government headstone, marker, or medallion, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, at no cost to the family. Some Veterans may also be eligible for burial allowances. Cremated remains are buried or inurned in national cemeteries in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains.
Burial benefits available for spouses and dependents buried in a national cemetery include burial with the Veteran, perpetual care, and the spouse or dependents name and date of birth and death inscribed on the Veteran's headstone, at no cost to the family. Eligible spouses and dependents may be buried, even if they predecease the Veteran.
The Veterans family should make funeral or cremation arrangements with a funeral provider or cremation office. Any item or service obtained from a funeral home or cremation office will be at the family's expense.
Pre-need Eligibility
Reduce stress for your family during their time of loss, apply in advance to determine burial eligibilty. Pre-need determination of eligibility allows you to plan your burial ahead of time, relieving your loved ones of the burden.
Veterans Legacy Memorial
The Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) is the nation's first digital platform dedicated entirely to the memory of the nearly 10 million Veterans interred in VA's national cemeteries.
Launched in 2019, individual Veteran profile pages are populated with military service and cemetery information. Publicly available information gathered from VA records includes service branch with logo, dates of birth and death, rank, war period, decorations, emblem of belief, and cemetery information.
Interactive features allow family, friends, and others to preserve their Veteran's legacy by posting tributes (comments), upload images, share their Veteran's military service timeline and achievements, biographical information, historical documents and more.
