Burial at Arlington? Army looks at changing rules for who is eligible for interment

WASHINGTON – Troops who die on active duty but not in combat would no longer be eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, according to a proposal released Wednesday by the Army aimed at conserving space at the nation’s most hallowed ground for fallen troops.

Without changes to eligibility, the cemetery, home to the remains of privates and presidents, would run out of room in 30 years to inter even troops who have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

The new criteria for burial include troops killed in combat, recipients of the Silver Star or a higher award, wounded who have received the Purple Heart, former prisoners of war, presidents and vice presidents and combat veterans who have exceptional records of public service.

Militarykind: These military homecomings never fail to make us cry

The new eligibility rules at the cemetery would allow certain veterans, including those from the World War II era, to be laid to rest at the cemetery in above-ground facilities.

Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy proposed setting aside 1,000 gravesites for recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor.

“Arlington National Cemetery is a national shrine for all Americans, but especially those who have served our great nation,” McCarthy said in a statement. “We must ensure it can honor those we have lost for many years to come.”

So sweet: Photos capture Marine meeting his 5-month-old: 'Dear daddy, finally'

Congress mandated the proposed rule changes, which will be open to public comment. Without changes to eligibility, the 155-year-old cemetery would be filled to capacity sometime after 2050.

Nearly all of the 22 million living armed forces members and veterans are eligible for less than 95,000 remaining burial spaces, according to the cemetery.

The cemetery occupies land once owned by George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington and step-grandson of George Washington. In 1857, Custis willed the property to his daughter Mary Anna Randolph Custis, whose husband was Robert E. Lee. Lee left the U.S. Army at the outset of the Civil War and led Confederate troops.

Civil War fatalities filled cemeteries in Washington, and the federal government, which had taken possession of the property, began burying troops there. Presidents John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft are buried there along with more than 400 recipients of the Medal of Honor.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arlington National Cemetery: Army considers new rules for burial