National Cemetery Administration
Calverton National Cemetery
210 Princeton Boulevard
Calverton, NY 11933
Phone: 631-727-5410
FAX: 631-369-4397
Kiosk: Yes
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Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
VA will continue its practice of honoring special requests for weekend burials for religious purposes, in cases of service members killed in action and on at least one day of any three-day Federal holiday weekend at all open VA national cemeteries.
This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed burials and the interment of cremains in-ground or in columbaria. A scatter garden and an ossuary are also available.
Planning ahead for a Veteran's or loved-one's final resting place can eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce stress on a family at a difficult time.
Request eligibility status for:
- Veteran or servicemember
- Spouse
- Dependent family member
Burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
Take the Long Island Expressway East (495) to Exit 68 (William Floyd Pkwy). Then take William Floyd Pkwy North to Route 25 East. The cemetery entrance is on the left in approximately four miles.
The nearest airport is Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip and travel time to the cemetery is about 30 minutes. JFK and LaGuardia are approximately 70 miles from the cemetery, making travel time approximately 90 minutes in local area traffic.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
Grave Location
The grave location of your loved one is furnished on the map included in the burial document folder. There is a kiosk with a gravesite locator at the administration building for previous interments. Cemetery personnel are available to assist visitors during office hours.
Grave Marker
A temporary grave marker is used to mark the grave directly following the interment. A permanent grave marker will be furnished free of charge. Every effort is made to have the permanent grave marker delivered and set within 60 days of the day of interment.
Flags
The United States flag is flown over national cemeteries every day. Graves are decorated annually with United States gravesite flags the Saturday before Memorial Day; gravesite flags are removed the Saturday after the holiday.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Visitors to Calverton National Cemetery are reminded of its solemn purpose and asked to act in a dignified manner while on cemetery grounds.
You may place flowers on your loved ones' graves throughout the year.
Floral items will be removed from graves when they become faded or unsightly. All gravesite decorations will be removed monthly per the cemetery's published schedule.
Please use floral cones, available throughout the cemetery, for fresh-cut and artificial flowers. Floral cones allow grass to grow and be trimmed for perpetual care.
During the winter season, from December to mid-January, grave blankets 2' x 3' or smaller and other seasonal items may be placed on gravesites.
Note: When snow falls over grave blankets, they are not readily visible to staff who must traverse sections on equipment.
To preserve the dignity and appearance of your loved one's final resting place, the following items aren't allowed:
- Alcoholic products
- Any items adhered to the ground with spikes or staples
- Balloons, pinwheels, statues or stuffed animals
- Candles, votive or vigil lights, solar lights or battery-operated lights of any kind
- Commemorative items or photos
- Floral saddles atop headstones
- Glass items
- Items affixed to headstones, markers or niche covers
- Items taller than 3' or items encroaching on other gravesites
- Objects such as rocks or other durable items, that, when mowing or performing maintenance, could become projectiles
- Offensive items or those deemed contrary to honoring Veterans
- Permanent flower containers or plantings
- Shepherd's hooks
- Windchimes
The following activities are not permitted:
- Possessing firearms, explosives, or other weapons is prohibited on cemetery property
- Public gatherings of a partisan nature
- Recreational activities of any kind, including but not limited to bicycling, jogging, picnicking, roller blading, skateboarding, walking pets, hunting, consuming alcohol or drugs
The cemetery is not responsible for flowers placed on gravesites. They will not be replaced if damaged, stolen, or eaten by deer. All items placed in the cemetery become the property of the cemetery and prohibited items will be removed and properly disposed.
Trees, benches and cemetery structures may not be decorated in any way.
Transportation for visitors needing assistance to gravesites is available, weather and ground conditions permitting, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
Calverton National Cemetery is located in eastern Long Island between the towns of Manorville and Riverhead in Suffolk County. When the National Cemetery System constructed Calverton National Cemetery in 1978, the cemetery became the third national cemetery to be located on Long Island. The other national cemeteries situated on Long Island were Cypress Hills National Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York, which was established in 1862 and Long Island National Cemetery, in Farmingdale, New York, established in 1936. St. Albans National Cemetery was established in Queens, New York in 2025.
In 1974, Long Island National Cemetery was the only national cemetery on Long Island with available space for first interment burials — but its maximum burial capacity was soon to be exhausted. As a result, plans were developed by the National Cemetery System to construct a new regional cemetery to serve the greater New York area — home, then, to nearly three million Veterans and their dependents. On December 7, 1977, a 902-acre tract of land was transferred from the U.S. Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at Calverton to the Veterans Administration for use as a national cemetery. A later land transfer from the naval installation brought the national cemetery to 1,045 acres.
The National Cemetery System realized that Calverton National Cemetery would become one of its more active cemeteries. For that reason, they designed and built a feature called a committal "wheel" of shelters that permits multiple burial services to be held simultaneously. To the left of the main cemetery entrance, around the Veteran's Circle, are seven committal shelters. After the funeral service, the caskets are moved into the hub of the wheel and then transported to their respective gravesites. Calverton is one of the largest, and one of the most active national cemeteries currently overseen by the National Cemetery Administration.
Monuments and Memorials
Calverton National Cemetery features a memorial walkway lined with a variety of memorials that honor America's Veterans. As of 2026, there are 28 memorials commemorating the service and sacrifice of our nation's Veterans.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 434 Medal of Honor recipients interred at VA national cemeteries including 6 double recipients.
» Medal of Honor recipients interred or memorialized here:
Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy (Afghanistan). He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in Afghanistan during Operation Redwing, June 28, 2005. Murphy is buried in Section 67, Site 3710.
Other Burials
A Pennsylvania native of Polish descent, Francis S. Gabreski enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1940. During World War I, Col. Gabreski flew with the Royal Air Force 315th Squadron of Polish pilots and, once the United States declared war, the U.S. 61st Fighter Squadron. Gabreski's tactical skills and courage earned him the title, "America's Greatest Living Ace." With thirty victories to his credit in 1944 and awaiting orders for leave, he volunteered for one more mission. He crashed and was captured, and held at Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp for Allied airmen until March 1945. He briefly left service in 1946, but reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and served in Korea. Highly decorated and respected, he retired in 1967. Col. Gabreski died January 31, 2002 (Section 14, Site 724).
South Carolinian Isaac Woodard (1919–1992) enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942. Sergeant Woodard served in the Pacific Theater of World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946. In uniform, he boarded a bus for home and, en route, was brutally attacked and blinded. Woodard was one of many black servicemen who experienced discrimination and violence, but his case sparked a national outcry. The NAACP sought justice, musicians immortalized the travesty, and Orson Welles unmasked Woodard's attacker — police chief Lynwood Shull — on his radio show. Yet no charges were filed until President Harry Truman ordered an investigation. The jury acquitted Shull in less than a half hour. In response, Truman established a Civil Rights Commission and desegregated the military. In 2019, the city of Batesville, where Woodard was attacked, placed a historic marker that includes text in Braille about what happened there. Woodard is buried in Section 15, Site 2180.
We are developing educational content for this national cemetery, and will post new materials as they become available. Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
