Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

Arlington National Cemetery is both the most hallowed burial ground of our Nation's fallen and one of the most visited tourist sites in the Washington, DC, area. A fully operational national cemetery since May 1864, Arlington National Cemetery conducts an average of 27 funerals each workday--final farewells to fallen heroes from the fronts of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to veterans of World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam and the Cold War and their family members.

The grounds of Arlington National Cemetery honor those who have served the nation and their families by providing a sense of beauty and peace. The rolling green hills are dotted with trees (some that are older than the cemetery itself), monuments and gardens throughout the 624 developed acres of the cemetery. This impressive landscape serves as a tribute to the service and sacrifice of every individual and their families laid to rest within the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.

A first stop on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery should include the Welcome Center, located by the cemetery entrance. In the Welcome Center there are maps, information services (to include grave locations), kiosks for accessing the ANC Explorer, a bookstore and restrooms. The Welcome Center also contains exhibits and displays that tell the story of Arlington National Cemetery and its significance to the nation. The cornerstone of the exhibits is a life-size replica of a bugler playing “Taps”, one of the most recognizable components of a military honors funeral. The Welcome Center opens daily at 8 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. from April 1 to Sept. 30 and at 5 p.m. from October to March. The Welcome Center is open every day, except December 25th.

The guard is changed every hour on the hour Oct. 1 to March 31 in an elaborate ritual. From April 1 through September 30, there are more than double the opportunities to view the change because another change is added on the half hour and the cemetery closing time moves from 5 to 7 p.m.

An impeccably uniformed relief commander appears on the plaza to announce the Changing of the Guard. Soon the new sentinel leaves the Quarters and unlocks the bolt of his or her M-14 rifle to signal to the relief commander to start the ceremony. The relief commander walks out to the Tomb and salutes, then faces the spectators and asks them to stand and stay silent during the ceremony.

The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and has never been officially named. The Tomb of the Unknowns stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater.  Inscribed on the back of the Tomb are the words: Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.

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