Arlington National Cemetery is a military cemetery reserved for active duty service members, veterans, and their families. It follows strict rules and regulations, including proper conduct and dress code, restrictions on personal items left at gravesites, and guidelines for grave decorations. Visiting hours, photography policies, and ceremonies must also be observed respectfully.
Arlington National Cemetery opened in May 1864 during the American Civil War on the grounds of the Arlington Estate in Virginia. It was established as a military cemetery to honor and bury Union soldiers who died during the conflict.
First, establish eligibility with the Veteran's Administration. (see related links below)
Second, follow the procedure for 'at the time of need'. (see related links below)
The distance from Arlington National Cemetery to Lincoln Memorial is approximately 3 minutes. Getting there requires driving over the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Thousands; some of note are Audie Murphy, William J. Donovan, Matthew Urban, John F. Kennedy
Arlington is a US military cemetery, so almost all of those buried there are soldiers, sailors, airmen, and their families, including those who became prominent after their military service.
Those interred in the cemetery or on the grounds include:
(For more individuals, see the related link)
the oldest grave in the AN cemetery is a grave that was built in 1763. The grave belongs to Jacqueline Harris. Jacqueline Harris was a young lady who died of kidney failure. She lived out a life of seventeen years. You can find her family graves at that same cemetery too. My granny told me that her great-grandmother was friends with Jacqueline, and is proud that she is the oldest grave in the AN cemetery.
Humayun S.M. Khan, a 26 year old U.S. Army Captain, lured a suicide car bomb away from the men in his unit, saving their lives while losing his own. Khan was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
You can read more about Captain Khan and view his tombstone, bearing the Islamic Crescent and Star,
US Army Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan's tombstone also bears the Muslim Crescent and Star. Khan, who was 20 years old, was also posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. As a member of the Junior ROTC program at his high school, he proved himself to be a solid student and citizen.
Army Specialist Omead Razani, the son of Iranian immigrants, received a fatal shot to his head while treating a wounded soldier during battle. Razani, a 19 year old Army medic, was killed on August 27, 2004, while attempting to save the lives of fellow soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was the first Iranian-American soldier to fall in Iraq.
US Army Staff Sergeant Ayman Abdelrahman Taha, 31, of Vienna, Virginia, died in Balad, Iraq, on December 30, 2005, when he was preparing a munitions cache for demolition and the cache exploded. Taha was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He is buried at Arlington Natiional Cemetery.
Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Kendall Waters-Bey, a veteran of the first Gulf War, was killed in a CH-46E helicopter crash on March 21, 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. SSGT Waters-Bey, who was married and had a 10 year old son, was 29 years old.
This is because there is a twenty-one gun salute, so for every salute there is a step.
Arlington National Cemetery is administered by the Department of the Army National Cemeteries, a part of the Defense Department of the U.S. federal government.
Arlington National Cemetery covers an area of 624 acres comprising about 300,000 grave sites.
Apparently, no. The main categories seem to be veterans who retired from the Armed Forces, active duty members of the Armed Forces, decorated veterans, and federal politicians. Here are the categories from the cemetery's website:
The persons specified below are eligible for ground burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The last period of active duty of former members of the Armed Forces must have ended honorably. Interment may be casketed or cremated remains. # Any active duty member of the Armed Forces (except those members serving on active duty for training only). # Any veteran who is retired from active military service with the Armed Forces. # Any veteran who is retired from the Reserves is eligible upon reaching age 60 and drawing retired pay; and who served a period of active duty (other than for training). # Any former member of the Armed Forces separated honorably prior to October 1, 1949 for medical reasons and who was rated at 30% or greater disabled effective on the day of discharge. # Any former member of the Armed Forces who has been awarded one of the following decorations: ## Medal of Honor ## Distinguished Service Cross (Navy Cross or Air Force Cross) ## Distinguished Service Medal ## Silver Star ## Purple Heart # The President of the United States or any former President of the United States. # Any former member of the Armed Forces who served on active duty (other than for training) and who held any of the following positions: ## An elective office of the U.S. Government ## Office of the Chief Justice of the United States or of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ## An office listed, at the time the person held the position, in 5 USC 5312 or 5313 (Levels I and II of the Executive Schedule). ## The chief of a mission who was at any time during his/her tenure classified in Class I under the provisions of Section 411, Act of 13 August 1946, 60 Stat. 1002, as amended (22 USC 866) or as listed in State Department memorandum dated March 21, 1988. # Any former prisoner of war who, while a prisoner of war, served honorably in the active military, naval, or air service, whose last period of military, naval or air service terminated honorably and who died on or after November 30, 1993. # The spouse, widow or widower, minor child, or permanently dependent child, and certain unmarried adult children of any of the above eligible veterans. # The widow or widower of: ## a member of the Armed Forces who was lost or buried at sea or officially determined to be missing in action. ## a member of the Armed Forces who is interred in a US military cemetery overseas that is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. ## a member of the Armed Forces who is interred in Arlington National Cemetery as part of a group burial. # The surviving spouse, minor child, or permanently dependent child of any person already buried in Arlington National Cemetery. # The parents of a minor child, or permanently dependent child whose remains, based on the eligibility of a parent, are already buried in ANC. A spouse divorced from the primary eligible, or widowed and remarried, is not eligible for interment. # Provided certain conditions are met, a former member of the Armed Forces may be buried in the same grave with a close relative who is already buried and is the primary eligible.
See also: http://www.slate.com/id/2059519/
...No one knows who he was. That is the reason for the name it is the tomb of the unknown soldier. It is where unidentified remains could be remembered, if they could identify who the people were they wouldn't be in the tomb of the unknown soldier instead they would be buried with a headstone that bore their name.
The Arlington National Cemetery was founded on June 28, 1864, during the Civil War.
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The cemetery was once the plantation of Robert E. Lee and the government told Lee he owed 90.00 in back taxes and had to pay it in person. Since he was fighting the civil war he couldn't get to Washington to pay the tax, so the government took the property. They put the first burial in his front yard of a Union soldier and this is how the cemetery was established.
Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
December 1963, see link http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jfk.htm