National Cemetery Administration NCA

As Civil War deaths mounted, Congress authorized the President on July 17, 1862, to buy land for national cemeteries for soldiers who died in service. The Army ran the system for more than a century until the National Cemeteries Act of 1973 transferred most cemeteries to the Veterans Administration. The National Cemetery Administration is led by the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. Arlington National Cemetery and the Soldiers' Home cemetery remain under the Army.

NCA operates more than 150 national cemeteries in most states and Puerto Rico, along with dozens of soldiers' lots and monument sites, and maintains the graves of millions of veterans and family members. Eligible veterans, spouses, and dependents can be buried at no cost, and VA provides free headstones, markers, and medallions for veterans buried in any cemetery in the world, along with Presidential Memorial Certificates. It also funds grants for state and tribal veterans cemeteries.

NCA has repeatedly earned the highest score of any public or private organization in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Its main challenge is access: VA aims to place a burial option within reasonable distance of most veterans, and it has opened smaller urban and rural sites to reach veterans far from existing cemeteries. As World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veterans age, demand for burials is expected to remain high before gradually declining.