A US Air Force bugler stands in wait at a Full Honors service in Section 25 during a rainstorm in Arlington National Cemetery.

Post author:Clifford Crittenden
Post published:July 9, 2021
Post category:Uncategorized

[igp-video src=”” poster=”https://www.arlington.media/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/a-us-air-force-bugler-stands-in-wait-at-a-full-honors-service-in-section-25-during-a-rainstorm-in-ar.jpg” size=”large”]

Arlington Estate was established by George Washington’s adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, to be a living memorial to the first president. Custis’s daughter, Mary, married U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Robert E. Lee in 1831. When he died, Custis left the estate to his daughter Mary Custis Lee for the duration of her life, and upon her death, her eldest son would inherit the property. Robert E. Lee served as the executor of his father-in-law’s will and never owned the property After the Lees abandoned the property at the start of the Civil War, the U.S. Army seized Arlington Estate on the morning of May 24, 1861 to defend Washington, D.C. From the property’s heights, rifled artillery could range every federal building in the nation’s capital. The estate was seized not to punish the Custis-Lee family, but rather for its strategic value. Three forts were built on the property during the Civil War: Fort Cass/Rosslyn, Fort Whipple/Fort Myer and Fort McPherson (currently Section 11 of the cemetery). Beginning in June 1863, a large Freedman’s Village, established for freed and escaped slaves, was established in what today are Sections 3, 4, 8, 18 and 20. On May 13, 1864, the first military burial was conducted for Private William Christman. Brigadier General Montgomery Meigs, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, who was responsible for the burial of soldiers, ordered Arlington Estate used for a cemetery. The existing D.C.-area national cemeteries (Soldiers’ Home and Alexandria National Cemeteries) were running out of space — both closed on the day that burials began at Arlington. Arlington officially became a national cemetery on June 15, 1864, by order of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The original cemetery was 200 acres, and has since grown to 639 acres (as of early 2020). Today, approximately 400,000 veterans and their eligible dependents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Service members from every one of America’s major wars, from the Revolutionary War to today’s conflicts, are interred at ANC. As a result, the history of our nation is reflected on the grounds of the cemetery.

December 8, 2021

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¹ DEPENDENT SERVICES
When a spouse or other dependent of a current or former member of the Armed Forces is buried at Arlington, the military service in which the primary party served will provide:

A chaplain
A casket team (body bearers / pall bearers)

No other military funeral honors will be rendered unless the spouse also served in the military.

² STANDARD HONORS SERVICES
Enlisted service members, WO-1 through CW-3, and O-1 through O-3, interred/inurned at Arlington National Cemetery will receive honors provided by the decedent’s branch of service. These honors include:

A chaplain
A casket team (body bearers / pall bearers)
A firing party
A bugler

³ FULL HONORS SERVICES
In addition to the standard military funeral honors, some Commissioned and Warrant officers and senior non-Commissioned Officer with a pay grade of E-9, CW-4 and CW-5, and O-4 and above:

ARMY: Sergeant Major (SGM), Command Sergeant Major (CSM), Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA),
NAVY & COAST GUARD: Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO), Fleet/Command Master Chief Petty Officer, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON), or Coast Guard (MCPOCG),
MARINES: Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt), Sergeant Major (SgtMaj), Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (SgtMajMC),
AIR FORCE: Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt), First Sergeant, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF),

are eligible for full military funeral honors at Arlington National Cemetery including:

A chaplain
A casket team (body bearers / pall bearers)
A firing party
A bugler
A military band
An escort platoon (size varies according to the rank of the deceased)

Additionally, those eligible for full military funeral honors at Arlington National Cemetery may use the caisson (UNAVAILABLE until Spring 2025), if available. Officers in the rank of colonel and above in the Army and the Marine Corps may be provided a caparisoned (riderless) horse, if available. General/flag officers may receive a cannon salute (17 guns for a four-star general, 15 for a three-star, 13 for a two-star, 11 for a one-star), if available.