Just went to my first funeral at a national cemetery today. And the headstones are too close together for traditional graves. Are the caskets buried ‘standing up?’
-rainy
All of them, or just the area you were in? I’ve always heard it’s because there are no bodies there, and are mostly for individuals who were either MIA or weren’t big enough after their death to fit in a casket.
Well, our (GA) national cemetery is relatively new, and it is the only one I’ve been to. But all the graves were the same size (as far as I could tell by casual observation). And the funeral was for a family friend who was a vet and died in a car accident. The casket he was in at the funeral parlor was standard sized.
In Arlington, the caskets are laid in the traditional way, but there is very little extra space between rows. It may indeed be a bit tighter than in a private cemetery.
Private cemeteries generally plot double graves so husband and wife can have tombstones side by side. This is not done in veterans cemeteries, where the stones and markers are set perfectly straight and close together to simulate soldiers standing in formation.
Husbands and wives do share graves in these cemeteries - they just share a marker as well.
Especially at places like Arlington they really cram them in, because it’s not like they’re going to get some more space when they run out.
Okay, when I go back, I’m taking a tape measure with me. Perhaps I just misjudged the distance, but there didn’t appear to be even six feet between the markers (front to back) in the row. That’s what made me wonder if they stood the caskets upright or something to accomodate getting them closer together. Maybe it was just the scale of the whole scene which mislead me.
Perhaps they buried cremated remains?
At Arlington they told my group that some sections there have graves very close because there are no bodies.
Well, my father was buried in a national cemetary (and so would my mother have been if they’d have had the foresight to plan it that way) but from what I understand there’s just tight spacing and that they can bury one on top of another in a single formation or just reserve a spot if no remains exist. I don’t believe they ever bury cremains, but I’ve been wrong before.
I can’t imagine that they’d ever bury feet or head first though, conventional vaults would mean nothing, as the fluids would eventually pool and leak out, defeating the purpose.
From here (bolding added):
"A Guide to Burial at Arlington National Cemetery
Establishing Eligibility
Eligibility for Interment (Ground Burial)
The persons specified below are eligible for ground burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The last period of active duty of former members of the Armed Forces must have ended honorably. Interment may be casketed or cremated remains."