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National Cemetery Administration
Attn: General Inquiries
810 Vermont Avenue
Washington, DC 20420
1-844-MyVA311 (1-844-698-2311)
Omaha National Cemetery
Office Hours
Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cemetery Grounds
Every day of the year from sunrise to sunset.
This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains. Cremation placement includes in-ground, columbarium and ossuary.
Burial in a 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. For more information visit our eligibility web page.
From Eppley Airfield head south toward Pratt Ct. Turn right on Pratt Ct. Turn right on Abbott Drive. Keep right to stay on Abbott Dr. Continue onto John J Pershing Dr. Turn left onto Dick Collins Rd. Dick Collins Road turns right and becomes McKinley Street. Turn right on N 31st Street. Turn left to merge onto I-680W. Take exit 446 to merge onto I-80 West toward Lincoln. Take exit 440 for NE-50/144th Street. Turn left and go south 2.1 miles to Schram Road and turn left/east. The main entrance to the cemetery is 1/8 of a mile on the left from 144th Street/Hwy 50.
If traveling from Iowa take Interstate 80 west to S 144th Street/ Hwy 50 and turn south. Continue 2.1 miles to Schram Road and turn left/east. The main entrance to the cemetery is 1/8 of a mile on the left from 144th Street/Hwy 50.
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.
The 236-acre cemetery in Sarpy County, Nebraska will serve the burial needs of more than 112,000 Veterans in the cemetery's service area for the next 100 years. This cemetery is the second Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery in the State of Nebraska.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Cemetery floral policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public. Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers maybe be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly. Metal, plastic and temporary flowers containers are permitted. Glass containers are not allowed.
Artificial flowers may be placed on graves during the period of October 10th through March 15th. Potted plants are permitted on graves 10 days before and 10 days following Easter Sunday. Memorial day decorations will be removed from graves 7 days following the holiday. Please note we do allow you to place artificial flowers during the Memorial Day week as an exception to the policy.
Christmas wreaths, and grave blankets are permitted on the graves during the Christmas season. They will be removed no later than January 10th of each year. Grave floral blankets may not be larger than 2'X3'.
Plantings are not permitted on the graves at any time. Statues, vigil lights, balloons, breakable objects of any nature and similar commemorative items are not permitted on graves.
Adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel are not permitted.
Floral items and other decorations will not be secured to headstones or markers.
Cemetery personnel will remove floral items from the graves as soon as they become faded and unsightly.
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.
The Department of Veterans Affairs purchased the property in 2012 for $6.2 million.
The Dedication Ceremony took place on Aug 5, 2016 and the First Interments took place on September 27, 2016.
Missourian Melvin Carl Anderson was born in 1912 and by 1930 his family moved to Omaha, Nebraska. When the United States entered World War II, he enlisted in the army. In November 1944, Sergeant Anderson was part of Co. C, 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, supporting the fighting near Grosshau, Germany. Two tank destroyers and six tanks were destroyed, including Anderson's. On December 21, 1944, Anderson was categorized as killed in action and his name was inscribed on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery. He was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, posthumously. U.S. investigators later found the remnants of a tank destroyer near Grosshau; it contained unknown remains that were interred at Rhone American Cemetery. New DNA technologies have allowed the Defense POW/MIS Accounting Agency to identify remains such as those of Anderson. He was reburied in Omaha National Cemetery on October 12, 2018.
Born in 1925, Jean Annette Briggs grew up in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk County, England. One of three girls, she was a talented artist who attended school in Cambridge. In 1943, at 18, she joined the Royal Navy and her family believed she drove a bus during World War II. Briggs actually operated a BOMBE machine, used to decode German military messages, and worked for master codebreaker Alan Turing. The secret ULTRA project cracked Germany's ENIGMA code. Briggs married U.S. Army Air Corps pilot John Watters (1917-2018) after the war. He flew B-17s, and later the U.S. Air Force colonel served in Korea and Vietnam. The couple raised six children in Bellevue, Nebraska. Jean Briggs Watters died September 15, 2018, and was buried with British military honors. She is interred with her husband in Omaha National Cemetery (Section 3, Site 253).
Wilfred Louis Ebel (1930-2018) was the fifth director of what is now the National Cemetery Administration, from 1987-1989. The Nebraskan served in the U.S. Army during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Ebel received military commendations including the Legion of Merit and Distinguished Service, and he was inducted into the Senior Army Reserve Commanders Association Hall of Fame in 1995. As a civilian, he held appointments in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush administrations. The Memorial Affairs program at VA became the National Cemetery System during his tenure. Ebel oversaw the development of Florida and Fort Mitchell (AL) national cemeteries, transfer of a state veteran cemetery into the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, and the opening of three state cemeteries. He remained connected to NCA until his death. Ebel died July 3, 2018, and is buried in Omaha National Cemetery (Section 1, Site 854).
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.
