How It Works
Who is eligible for burial at Arlington?
National cemetery home to veterans, famous Americans
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It may be the most hallowed ground in the nation: Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 260,000 people.
But who gets buried there? This week's How it Works explains.
Situated in Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, the 200-plus acre tract is one of the busiest national cemeteries in the countries.
Funerals average about 5,400 a year. Veterans from all the country's wars are buried there, from the American Revolution through today's conflict in Iraq.
Arlington was designated a military cemetery in 1864 after the land was confiscated by the government from the family of Robert E. Lee, who had resigned from the Army to join the Confederacy.
Burial at Arlington is restricted. Among those eligible for burial:
Service members who died in the line of dutyVeterans retired from active dutyThe spouse or widow of a service member or veteranPresidents of the United StatesFamous Americans buried at Arlington include Presidents Kennedy and Taft, civil rights activist Medgar Evers and World War II hero and movie star Audie Murphy.
Among the former Supreme Court justices buried there are Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall.
Sixty-five victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are also buried in Arlington, as well as more than 3,800 former slaves.
