Burial at Arlington National Cemetery - how long is the current wait?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have to be cremated if you are buried there? If you are not cremated, does it still take as long?

It depends on rank and other honors earned, death in combat, while on active duty, etc.

I know someone who was killed in combat, and he was buried within the week. It totally depends. I'm sorry for your loss OP.

That makes sense. I thought the pp was responding to "do you have to be cremated?"

Well my father was eligible for internment at the columbarium, not for burial. That's what I meant by "it depends." If you want to be at Arlington but are not eligible for burial, then yes, you have to be cremated (or go elsewhere).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband passed away recently and he requested to be buried at Arlington. I submitted all of the paperwork and I now have a case number. I'm waiting on the Scheduling Department to call with a date for the burial. He has been cremated and we requested inurnment in the Columbarium.

Does anyone know how long the current wait times are?

At least a month and a half. I'm basing it off of my experience in 2008.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for your loss.

One funeral I attended there had to wait 6 months. Those passing while on active duty have priority.

-Former long time VA employee and this is inaccurate information.

[Anonymous]

DH’s mother passed in March and we are still waiting for a date. He has other family members that waited almost a year. They wouldn’t give us any information on how they prioritize.

[Anonymous]

Wow. MIL is going to be buried right next to FIL, who was in the military. How fair is this, when current military members are not guaranteed burial (and certainly not in a timely manner)?

[Anonymous]

Husbands and wives are no longer buried side by side but rather in the same plot if I recall from my FIL’s burial a few years ago. Plus one tombstone only for the couple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Husbands and wives are no longer buried side by side but rather in the same plot if I recall from my FIL’s burial a few years ago. Plus one tombstone only for the couple.

This is true. My father lost two wives and all three of them are buried in one plot. All three names are on one headstone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. MIL is going to be buried right next to FIL, who was in the military. How fair is this, when current military members are not guaranteed burial (and certainly not in a timely manner)?

How many veterans would have passed on the honor of burial at Arlington if their spouses and deceased young children couldn’t be buried with them? It doesn’t take extra space in any case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for your loss.

One funeral I attended there had to wait 6 months. Those passing while on active duty have priority.

Another factor in waiting time is whether you want the service to be at the Old Post Chapel or graveside. A family member (spouse of retired Army officer) died in August, and we had to wait until Nov. 1 for a graveside service. The funeral director said that we'd have to wait at least twice as long to get a spot for the chapel service, adding that if we wanted Quantico--or really, any other national cemetery besides Arlington--we could have the interment the next week.

Arlington does know how to do military funerals though -- the last one we attended, which began at the chapel, featured a riderless horse, 21-gun salute, taps, etc. A very fitting tribute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. MIL is going to be buried right next to FIL, who was in the military. How fair is this, when current military members are not guaranteed burial (and certainly not in a timely manner)?

Grandfathering in the military spouses of earlier generations is MUCH fairer than yanking this long-guaranteed benefit, IMHO.

Sorry you don't like your MIL.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for your loss.

It was about 6 weeks for my family member. They weren't active duty but did have a purple heart. Not sure if that plays into timing.

[Anonymous]

Not for OP, but for others in this situation (or rather, the pre-death planning period), consider the national cemetery in your hometown. We had no wait for my mother's funeral, and the hometown national cemetery is more accessible than Arlington for family to visit whenever they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. MIL is going to be buried right next to FIL, who was in the military. How fair is this, when current military members are not guaranteed burial (and certainly not in a timely manner)?

Spouses have always been buried together, or at least for a very long time. Read the dates on many of the tombstones.

Do you have a citation for the info that current military members are not guaranteed a place at Arlington? That is the opposite of what I have been told.

[Anonymous]

My dad died in April. We just got the date for his interment, which will be this April.

[Anonymous]

We’ve been told the current wait time is about a year