The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance. The VA also provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, and Gettysburg National Cemetery, under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.
Calverton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island in New York. The cemetery's street address is in Calverton but the property is in the adjacent hamlet of Wading River. It encompasses 1,045 acres (423 ha) and as of the end of 2008 had 212,000 interments.
Culpeper National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the town of Culpeper, in Culpeper County, Virginia. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 29.6 acres (120,000 m2) of land, and as 2021, had over 14,000 interments.
Black Hills National Cemetery, originally named Fort Meade National Cemetery, is a United States National Cemetery near Sturgis, South Dakota. Named after the nearby Black Hills, over 29,000 interments of military veterans and their family members have taken place since its founding in 1948. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which also operates the nearby Fort Meade National Cemetery. It was the first national cemetery in South Dakota and is currently the only one open to new burials.
Camp Nelson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky. It was originally a graveyard associated with the U.S. Army's Camp Nelson, which was active during the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath. The camp was named for Major General William "Bull" Nelson, commander of the Civil War Army of Kentucky, who was murdered by a fellow officer in 1862.
San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at 32053 West McCabe Road, Santa Nella, in Merced County, California. This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains over 322 acres (130 ha) of land. The number of interments through fiscal year 2008 is 30,054.
Richmond National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery three miles (4.8 km) east of Richmond in Henrico County, Virginia. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 9.7 acres (3.9 ha), and as of 2021 had more than 11,000 interments. It is closed to new interments. Richmond National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The death care industry in the United States includes companies and organizations that provide services related to death: funerals, cremation or burial, and memorials. This includes for example funeral homes, coffins, crematoria, cemeteries, and headstones. The death care industry within the U.S. consists mainly of small businesses, although there has been considerable consolidation over time.
Alabama National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Montevallo, Alabama, about 35 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama. It encompasses 479 acres (194 ha), will serve veterans' needs for at least the next 50 years, and interments began on June 25, 2009.
Sarasota National Cemetery is a 295-acre (119 ha) United States National Cemetery located in Sarasota County, Florida. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is the sixth national cemetery developed in Florida.
Fort Jackson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located northeast of Columbia, South Carolina. It encompasses 585 acres (237 ha) acquired from Fort Jackson, a United States Army Basic Training facility, and was dedicated on October 26, 2008.
Yellowstone National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located one mile north of Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana, at 55 Buffalo Trail Road, administered by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. The 10.5 acres (4.2 ha) cemetery began as a satellite cemetery of Black Hills National Cemetery; Sturgis, South Dakota. On 18 May 2015 the Department of Veterans Affairs created five national areas of responsibility. Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado, in the newly formed Continental Division, assumed supervisory responsibility for Yellowstone National Cemetery. Yellowstone National Cemetery is the first of eight smaller national burial grounds the Department of Veterans Affairs began in its Rural Veterans Burial Initiative for largely rural states in America.
Miramar National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located in the northwest corner of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on the grounds of former Camp Kearny (1917) and Camp Elliott (1942). The cemetery is considered an auxiliary of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Western New York National Cemetery is a new United States National Cemetery located in the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Buffalo and 45 miles (72 km) west of Rochester in New York. The cemetery's street address is in Corfu but the property is actually located in the town of Pembroke. It encompasses 132 acres (53 ha) and is the seventh National Cemetery operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the New York. It is expected to have room for the burial of over 96,000 veterans and be open for 70 years. The cemetery is located near exit 48A of the New York State Thruway.
Northwoods National Cemetery is a national cemetery located in Oneida County, Wisconsin for veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. The cemetery was purchased to service the needs of veterans, spouses, and eligible children within a 75-mile radius of nearby Rhinelander.
Acadia National Cemetery is a 6.2 acre Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) national cemetery located in Washington County, Maine. The cemetery will serve the burial needs of Veterans, their spouses and eligible family members.
South Dakota Veterans Cemetery is a military cemetery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, established in 2021 for the interment of the state's veterans and their family members. Owned and maintained by the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs (SDDVA), it is the first federally-funded, state-operated veterans cemetery in South Dakota.
Sicangu Akicita Owicahe Tribal Veterans Cemetery, also known as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veterans Cemetery, located near White River in Mellette County, South Dakota, United States, is the official cemetery for veterans belonging to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Opened in 2013 and funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), it was one of the first tribal veterans cemeteries in the country.
