House of Representatives Approves Arlington National Cemetery Bill

Thursday December 20, 2001
Arlington Cemetery Bill Approved

Prompted by the death of a pilot who died in the September 11 hijackings, the House voted Thursday to expand the rights of reservists to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The measure, approved by voice vote, would eliminate the requirement that retired reservists who would otherwise be eligible be at least 60 years old to be buried at Arlington.

Currently, reservists with 20 years of service qualify for Arlington if they die after 60. Additionally, the bill would extend those privileges to reservists who die during training activities. Their spouses may be
buried with them.

The bill emerged after Charles Burlingame, a former Navy pilot who was the captain of the American
Airlines plane that hijackers crashed into the Pentagon, was initially denied burial at
Arlington because he was only 51 years old.

After intense public criticism, Army Secretary Thomas White reversed the decision and Burlingame was buried at the cemetery on December 12.

At a House hearing last week, John Metzler, superintendent of the cemetery, expressed concern that there is not enough space for the 188,000 reservists who could be eligible for burial there under the bill.

But Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and sponsor of the legislation, estimated that only an additional 50 to 200 people a year would be buried at Arlington as a result of the bill becoming law.

Arlington is projected to run out of burial plots by 2025.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard