United States National Cemetery
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United States National Cemetery ( National Cemetery in the United States ) is the name for 147 cemeteries of national importance in the United States of America .
National Cemeteries are generally, but not always, military cemeteries . They contain the graves of U.S. military personnel , veterans and their spouses and unmarried children. Besides these there are special State Veteran Cemeteries . Some national cemeteries, especially the Arlington National Cemetery ( Arlington National Cemetery ) south of the federal capital Washington, DC include graves of important civilian leaders and other important personalities. On some, the Confederate soldiers are buried in separate sections.
The National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) manages and maintains 131 of the 147 national cemeteries. The Department of the Army maintains two, Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery . The National Park Service ( NPS ) maintains 14 historical cemeteries and battlefields.
In addition, the American Battle Monuments Commission oversees 24 American military cemeteries overseas. For example, U.S. military cemeteries abroad include the World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France (for U.S. soldiers who died during Operation Overlord on June 8, 1944 from 1 . US Army as the first US American cemetery laid out on European land) and the World War II Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial , which was built near Saint-James for the fallen in Brittany (for more information on both sites, see Commemoration Operation Overlord ). Over 5000 fallen US soldiers are buried in Luxembourg , about 2.5 km southwest of Findel International Airport , in the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial .
Since the Second World War, US soldiers who have fallen abroad have been returned to the US wherever possible and, depending on the wishes of the relatives, are either buried in their hometown or in one of the national cemeteries.