Over 4 million visitors come through Arlington national cemetery each year. It has over 200 acres and was originally made to be a military natural burial site in 1864. It is the second largest national cemetery in the United States with over 300,000 people buried there. This famous natural cemetery is located in Arlington, Virginia and brings visitors here for many different reasons. Some just want to be able to see a piece of American history, some come to remember and honor the nation’s war heroes and others are there for the funeral and burial of a friend or family member.

For those people that are there to attend a funeral, they are in the company of many others each week at Arlington. They average about 28 funerals there each day during the week with no funerals happening there on the weekend. Veterans from all of the nation’s wars are buried at this cemetery from the American Revolution through Iraq and Afghanistan. There are certain traditions that happen during a funeral here. They have a wreath laying ceremony to have a wreath placed on the gravesite as well as a 21 gun salute in honor of the soldier. They also follow the burial with the playing of taps and the presentation of the flag that was on the coffin to the family.

One of the most visited parts of the Arlington national cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns. This is a tomb that was built and holds the remains of an unknown soldier from each war. It is meant to symbolize all of the service members that lost their lives during war. There was a ceremony when each Unknown Soldier was interred into the tomb by the presiding President of the United States at the time. The only war that is no longer represented is the Vietnam War where the remains were taken out and identified and then the family of that soldier preferred to have him buried near their home. The Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded by the U.S. Army 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

There are important people that are well known in American History that are also honored by being buried at this cemetery. These people were not military figures but important to our history. There are several explorers buried including some astronauts here. Also, laid to rest here are famous political figures like the Kennedy brothers. Famous literary and medical figures are burial here as well. There are also two Presidents of the United States buried here and they are William Howard Taft and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Many visitors enjoy walking all around and seeing so many famous names buried in one cemetery.

If you would like to travel to the Washington, D.C. area and take a visit to Arlington, Virginia to see this famous cemetery, it may be exciting to go there on a day that has special ceremonies surrounding it. Veteran’s Day usually has the sitting President speak in honor of those that lost their lives for our country.

Connor R. Sullivan recently researched natural burial methods for an article about ecological burials. He researched natural cemetery methods for an article about ecological burials.