Memorial Day events planned at 120+ national cemeteries

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs will host Memorial Day ceremonies this weekend at more than 120 VA national cemeteries across the country for 100,000 attendees.

All events and parking are free of charge and open to the public, and will feature wreath-laying ceremonies, commemorative speeches, the playing of Taps and other patriotic events to honor America's interred service members.

"This Memorial Day weekend, we invite Americans to join us at a VA national cemetery to honor those who died in defense of our nation," said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Sam Brown. "Together, we will ensure the legacies of these brave heroes live on for generations."

All 157 VA National Cemeteries and 35 soldiers' lots will be open throughout Memorial Day weekend, May 22-25. View the complete list of official VA National Cemetery Memorial Day events and visiting hours at a location near you.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at VA national cemeteries visit the following NCA webpage.

Members of the public may also make submissions to VA's Veterans Legacy Memorial website, which features written tributes, photos, biographies, documents and other information.

The VLM website hosts a memorial page for each of the more than 10.7 million Veterans interred in VA National Cemeteries and VA grant-funded cemeteries, Department of War-managed cemeteries, such as Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. Park Service National Cemeteries, American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries and in thousands of private cemeteries nationwide where Veterans have received a VA-provided gravesite marker since 1996.

For information about VA burial benefits, visit any one of VA's 157 national cemetery locations , visit online at VA burial benefits and memorial items or call toll-free at 800-827-1000. To pre-plan a burial for you and your family, visit the National Cemetery Administration's pre-need eligibility website.

More than 5.4 million people - including 4.1 million Veterans from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - are buried in VA national cemeteries. NCA honors eligible Veterans, active duty servicemembers, and eligible family members with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service and sacrifice to the nation.