The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War , in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, and Gettysburg National Cemetery , under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service , were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.
24-583: Fort Bliss National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in West Texas , located at Fort Bliss , a U.S. Army post adjacent to the city of El Paso . Administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs , it encompasses 82.1 acres (33.2 ha), and as of 2014, had over 50,000 interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. Fort Bliss itself was not established until
48-463: A total of 73 Civil War-Era National Cemeteries from 1861 to 1868. Final military honors are provided for qualified Veterans by volunteer veteran or National Guard details known as Memorial Honor Details (MHD), upon application by family members through their choice of mortuary handling the deceased. *Please note that the year listed is the official date of establishment listed by the VA. This may differ from
72-620: Is a single office for operations, plans, and training. A key official within the Army Staff is the director of the Army Staff, who is a three-star general. The director is responsible for integrating and synchronizing the work of the Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff so that they meet the goals and priorities of the secretary of the Army. Other key figures within the Army Staff are the sergeant major of
96-623: The El Paso Times . In 2007, the cemetery was xeriscaped with a budget of $ 4.2 million to convert the land. William F. Tuerk, director of the National Cemetery Administration oversaw the change. In 2013, the cemetery won the Texas Environmental Excellence Award because it was saving an average of $ 400,000 a year because of cutting costs for water and grass upkeep. In 2013, around 100 graves began to sink in
120-499: The Office of the Secretary of the Army (10 United States Code § 7014 ), the mainly civilian staff; and the Army Staff (10 United States Code § 7031, & 10 United States Code § 7032 ), the mainly military staff. The Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff are organized along similar lines, with civilians and military officers both overseeing similar program areas. The Office of
144-566: The Nationwide Grave-site Locator , which can be used to find burial locations of American military Veterans through their searchable website. The Department of the Army maintains two national cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery and United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery . The National Park Service (NPS) maintains 14 national cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields. The American Battle Monuments Commission , an independent agency of
168-495: The vice chief of staff of the United States Army , a four-star general and second highest-ranking officer in the Army. The Army Staff is divided into several directorates, each headed by a three-star general ; a deputy chief of staff (DCS G–1 (personnel), G–2 (intelligence), G–3 (operations), G–4 (logistics), G-5 (planning), G-6 (network), G-7 (training), G-8 (finance), and G-9 (installations) respectively). The DCS G-3/5/7
192-557: The 1840s, but burials were made in the area of the cemetery as early as 1833. The fort was used as a Confederate infantry post during the Civil War , a cavalry post for training during World War I , and then became a demobilization camp after the war. Before Ft. Bliss was moved, soldiers were buried at what is now Cleveland Square and the downtown El Paso Public Library . Union soldiers buried there were removed and reburied at Fort Snelling in 1883. In 1893, this former Ft. Bliss cemetery
216-598: The Army The United States Department of the Army ( DA ) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized, and it is led by the secretary of the Army , who has statutory authority under 10 United States Code § 7013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to
240-729: The Army (principal deputy to the secretary) and the vice chief of staff of the Army (principal deputy to the chief of staff.) The Department of War was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States and was split by the National Security Act of 1947 into the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force on September 18, 1947. By amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949,
264-676: The Army , the Army Staff Senior Warrant Officer , the Chief Warrant Officer of the Army , the United States Army judge advocate general , the chief of the Army Reserve , the United States Army provost marshal general , and the United States Army surgeon general . The chief of the National Guard Bureau was previously considered part of the Army Staff, but has been elevated to four-star rank and membership in
SECTION 10
#1732887201148288-648: The British Royal Air Force who served during that same war. In order to make way for new construction in the central business district in New Orleans , Louisiana in 1955, the remains of the Fort's namesake Lieutenant Colonel William Wallace Smith Bliss (1815–1853) were disinterred from Girod Street Cemetery in New Orleans and brought to Fort Bliss, along with the monument erected in his memory. In June 1973,
312-483: The Secretary is led by the secretary of the Army, assisted by the under secretary of the Army and the administrative assistant to the secretary of the Army , who is the senior civilian career official of the department. The Office of the Secretary of the Army, also known as the Army Secretariat , is divided into multiple branches with functional responsibilities, the six most important of which are headed by one of
336-539: The Veterans Administration took over operational duties of the cemetery. During the 1990s, twenty acres were added to the cemetery which were given by the Department of the Army. In 2002, the cemetery was using 90 million gallons of water a year to keep the grass in the area green. Plans for xeriscaping the cemetery began discussion in 2002. The xeriscaping was opposed by many because it was felt that xeriscaping looked less dignified or respectful, according to
360-493: The affairs of the Department of the Army, subject to the authority, direction and control of the secretary of defense. The Department of the Army is divided between its headquarters at the seat of government and the field organizations of the Army. By direction of the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Army assigns Army forces, apart from those units performing duties enumerated in 10 United States Code § 7013 (i.e., organize, train & equip) or unless otherwise directed to
384-525: The cemetery due to heavy rainfall in the area. Eventually, 1,300 graves were damaged, prompting geologists , Diane Doser and Lixin Jin and Representative Joe Moody to investigate the cause of the problem at the cemetery. United States National Cemetery The National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains 148 national cemeteries as well as
408-487: The department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status. The Department of the Army is a Military Department within the United States Department of Defense . The department is headed by the secretary of the army, who by statute must be a civilian, appointed by the president with the confirmation by the United States Senate . The secretary of the Army is responsible for and has the authority to conduct all
432-616: The executive branch, established by Congress in 1923, maintains 26 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside the United States. Twelve national cemeteries were established in 1862. A total of 34 were established during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Additional cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman . Congress passed additional laws to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867. The National Cemetery Administration lists
456-505: The five assistant secretaries of the Army or the general counsel of the Army, each of whom are civilians appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The Army Staff is led by the chief of staff of the Army , a four-star general who is the highest-ranking officer in the Army and the Army member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The chief of staff is assisted in managing the Army Staff by
480-463: The limits of the law, and the directions of the secretary of defense and the president . The secretary of the army is a civilian official appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate . The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the chief of staff of the Army , who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Other senior officials of the department are the under secretary of
504-465: The operational command of the commanders of the Combatant Commands . Only the secretary of defense (and the president) has the authority to approve transfer of forces to and from Combatant Commands by 10 United States Code § 162. Headquarters, Department of the Army is the corporate office of the department which exercises directive and supervisory functions and consists of two separate staffs:
SECTION 20
#1732887201148528-456: The year of the first burial, the oldest remains, the year the land was acquired, etc. Many post cemeteries have been given national cemetery status as late as 2020, which is considerably later than the original cemetery. For example, Vancouver Barracks post cemetery was established in 1849 and became a national cemetery in 2020—one of 11 cemeteries transferred from the Army to NCA in 2019–2020 per Exec. Order No. 13781, 2017. Department of
552-535: Was chosen by the Chinese government as the place of interment for 52 Republic of China Air Force cadets who died while training at the fort in 1944. Several German prisoners of war, and three Japanese civilians who were transferred from a cemetery in Lordsburg, New Mexico were also interred here, as were a German scientist who died while participating in research projects at Fort Bliss during World War II and an officer of
576-576: Was granted to the City of El Paso. In 1894, the area where the cemetery is currently located was designated as the Fort Bliss Post Cemetery. In 1914, the cemetery measured just 2.2 acres (0.89 ha); an additional 2.2 acres were added during the war. In 1939, funds were allocated for improvements and plans were approved to designate it a national cemetery. In addition to being the final resting place of American soldiers, Fort Bliss National Cemetery
#147852