United States National Cemetery System

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.

The National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains 148 national cemeteries as well as the Nationwide Grave-site Locator, which can be used to find burial locations of American military Veterans through their searchable website.

Additional cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman.

[7] Congress passed additional laws to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867.

[9] Final military honors are provided for qualified Veterans by volunteer veteran or National Guard details known as Memorial Honor Details (MHD), upon application by family members through their choice of mortuary handling the deceased.

A plaque at Chattanooga National Cemetery that explains the history of the National Cemetery System
Gettysburg National Cemetery , Pennsylvania
Golden Gate National Cemetery , California
Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia
Fort Snelling National Cemetery , Minnesota
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific , Hawaii
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Memorial Day 2010
Fort Logan National Cemetery
Grave-sites at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006
Fort Logan National Cemetery
Flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006. The cemetery has flat markers, a practice which is used extensively in the new fields at this cemetery.
National Cemetery in Memphis , Tennessee
Creation of national cemeteries