Members of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, honor America’s fallen heroes by placing American flags at gravesites for service members on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers examined burial benefits and management of cemeteries dedicated to veterans, ahead of the July Fourth weekend, when families are expected to visit gravesites for quiet remembrances of loved ones who served.
Visitors to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia are being warned to expect significant delays from detours and road closings because of the Independence Day weekend celebration, including a fireworks display at the National Mall to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Arlington National Cemetery, which closes at 5 p.m., cannot be used as a viewing location for Sunday evening’s fireworks, officials said.
While Memorial Day, which is the last Monday in May, is specifically a time to honor fallen military members, “it connects well with Independence Day, which is rapidly approaching,” said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, in opening remarks Tuesday afternoon at a hearing of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
“Freedom and sacrifice are central to what we do and what it means to be an American,” said Luttrell, a retired Navy SEAL and the subcommittee chairman.
The hearing focused on management and upkeep of veterans cemeteries and military memorials across the U.S. and overseas. The committee also looked at demand for burials, including an average of 24 to 27 funeral services each weekday at Arlington National Cemetery.
“These are sacred places and hallowed grounds that honor sacrifice,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., who also spent several minutes criticizing actions by President Donald Trump’s administration to acknowledge diversity in the military, including exhibits that honor the contributions of Black service members.
“Service is service, and all of it deserves to be honored,” said McGarvey, the top Democrat on the subcommittee. “But the administration’s view that honoring one detracts from another is wrong. We’ve always had as our North Star that all people are created equal, which is what we are getting ready to celebrate on Saturday.”
“Our military reflects the best of those values,” McGarvey said. “We undercut our greatness by selectively editing which American stories are deemed the right version of the American dream.”
Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Samuel Brown made his first appearance before the subcommittee to outline priorities for the National Cemetery Administration, which is one of the major branches of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Brown, a retired Army infantry officer and Purple Heart recipient, directs operations of VA’s national cemeteries, memorial products and programs honoring fallen service members and deceased veterans.
He also administers a federal grant program that supports the operations and expansion of veterans cemeteries managed by states, territories and tribal governments.
“Since its founding, the NCA has been guided by a simple principle: We only get one chance to get it right for a veteran and their family. That responsibility shapes every aspect of our work, from maintaining our national shrines to supporting families at a time of loss,” Brown said.
The NCA “carries one of the nation’s most sacred responsibilities — honoring veterans and their families with final resting places that reflect the dignity of their service and sacrifice,” he said.
Nearly 5.3 million Americans, including 4 million veterans, are memorialized in VA national cemeteries, Brown said.
Customer satisfaction, modernizing technology and promoting an online memorial program that enables the public to preserve veterans stories are key focuses, Brown said.
The NCA is also strengthening outreach to educate families of veterans about the importance of advance planning and how to access burial benefits, he said.
The VA “ensures that every veteran who seeks this benefit receives a dignified burial and lasting memorialization,” Brown said.
But funeral directors have said that it is common for grieving families to incorrectly assume that the VA will cover all funeral and burial expenses for a veteran, said Cole T. Lyle, national director of legislative affairs at the American Legion.
Lyle said that families often lack a clear understanding of their benefits, eligibility rules and required documentation.
“Memorialization does not begin or end at the cemetery gate. The greatest challenges occur during transitions — before death, during end-of-life care and after death,” Lyle said.
Families may forgo learning in advance about a veteran’s burial eligibility, military honors and memorial planning before the time of need occurs, he said.
The VA covers a portion of the costs for burials, funerals and plots but does not pay for professional services, caskets or obituaries.
The VA offers online information that outlines burial benefits and steps that family members need to take to apply for resources and assistance.
“We provide burial benefits for all legal burial types, including cremation and burial at sea. We also provide burial benefits for donating the veteran’s remains to a medical school,” the VA said.
There is also a timeline for filing claims for burial benefits of veterans whose deaths were not service-connected. Service-connected deaths must be supported through medical records.
Lawmakers also heard from the acting secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, which administers several U.S. military cemeteries and memorials, as well as cemeteries, memorials, monuments and commemorative plaques in other countries.
“Unlike most national cemeteries, nearly all ABMC cemeteries honor only the war dead and are closed to new burials, allowing our focus to remain on the perpetual preservation of historic sites and the stories they represent,” said Robert J. Dalessandro, ABMC acting secretary.
At the Normandy American Cemetery, in France, for example, more than 860 family members of fallen U.S. service members visited the site in 2025. Total attendance was 1.5 million, Dalessandro said.
He also discussed the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program, announced in June, which has a mission to correct burial markers of Jewish American service members who served in World War I and World War II.
Many are interred at sites with crosses instead of the Star of David because of incomplete military records and concerns at the time about antisemitic persecution, he said.
The commission also launched the ABMCFlowerProgram.com, which enables loved ones and supporters to purchase flowers for service members buried or memorialized at ABMC sites in the U.S. and around the world.
Floral arrangements may be ordered online or by phone, Dalessandro said. They are placed at the grave sites at the request of loved ones and supporters.
“Customers can search for a service member by name, select a delivery date, and include a personalized message,” Dalessandro said. “Staff place the arrangements at the appropriate gravesite or Wall of the Missing, and can provide a commemorative photograph documenting the placement.”
