Burial at Omaha National Cemetery: A family guide

History of Omaha National Cemetery

The Department of Veterans Affairs purchased the property in 2012 for $6.2 million.

The Dedication Ceremony took place on August 5, 2016 and the first interments took place on September 27, 2016.

Notable veterans buried at Omaha National Cemetery

The National Cemetery Administration documents the following veterans of note buried at Omaha National Cemetery, listed by section and site as recorded in the cemetery's official register.

• ​​Missourian Melvin Carl Anderson was born in 1912 and by 1930 his family moved to Omaha, NE. When the United States entered World War II, he enlisted in the army. In November 1944, Sergeant Anderson was part of Co. C, 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, supporting the fighting near Grosshau, Germany. Two tank destroyers and six tanks were destroyed, including Anderson's. On December 21, 1944, Anderson was categorized as killed in action and his name was inscribed on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery. He was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, posthumously. U.S. investigators later found the remnants of a tank destroyer near Grosshau; it contained unknown remains that were interred at Rhone American Cemetery. New DNA technologies have allowed the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to identify remains such as those of Anderson. He was reburied in Omaha National Cemetery on October 12, 2018 (Section 3, Site 299).
• Born in 1925, Jean Annette Briggs grew up in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk County, England. One of three girls, she was a talented artist who attended school in Cambridge. In 1943, at 18, she joined the Royal Navy and her family believed she drove a bus during World War II. Briggs actually operated a BOMBE machine, used to decode German military messages, and worked for master codebreaker Alan Turing. The secret ULTRA project cracked Germany's ENIGMA code. Briggs married U.S. Army Air Corps pilot John Watters (1917–2018) after the war. He flew B-17s, and later the U.S. Air Force colonel served in Korea and Vietnam. The couple raised six children in Bellevue, NE. Jean Briggs Watters died September 15, 2018, and was buried with British military honors. She is interred with her husband in Omaha National Cemetery (Section 3, Site 253).
• Wilfred Louis Ebel (1930–2018) was the fifth director of what is now the National Cemetery Administration, from 1987–1989. The Nebraskan served in the U.S. Army during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Ebel received military commendations including the Legion of Merit and Distinguished Service, and he was inducted into the Senior Army Reserve Commanders Association Hall of Fame in 1995. As a civilian, he held appointments in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush administrations. The Memorial Affairs program at VA became the National Cemetery System during his tenure. Ebel oversaw the development of Florida and Fort Mitchell (AL) national cemeteries, transfer of a state veteran cemetery into the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, and the opening of three state cemeteries. He remained connected to NCA until his death. Ebel died July 3, 2018, and is buried in Omaha National Cemetery (Section 1, Site 854).

Eligibility for burial at Omaha National Cemetery

Planning ahead for a Veteran's or loved-one's final resting place can eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce stress on a family at a difficult time.

The Department of Veterans Affairs covers the grave plot, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a government-furnished headstone or marker, and a U.S. burial flag at no cost to eligible families.

Visiting hours

Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset. Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. VA will continue its practice of honoring special requests for weekend burials for religious purposes, in cases of service members killed in action and on at least one day of any three-day Federal holiday weekend at all open VA national cemeteries.

How to schedule a burial at Omaha National Cemetery

1. The funeral home or family contacts the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117 (24/7 for active funeral arrangements).
2. Provide the veteran's full name, date of birth, social security number, dates of service, branch, and date of death.
3. Fax or email the DD-214 to the cemetery's interment office for verification.
4. Once eligibility is confirmed (typically 30–60 minutes for complete documentation), the cemetery assigns a date, time, and committal shelter.
5. The funeral home transports the deceased to Omaha National Cemetery at the assigned time. The cemetery handles opening, closing, and perpetual care from that point.

Where Omaha National Cemetery sits in the Nebraska cemetery system

Omaha National Cemetery is one of the veteran cemeteries operating in Nebraska. The cemetery is currently accepting new in-ground and columbarium interments. Families should verify status before planning.

For families considering alternatives, the nearest veteran cemeteries appear in our cemetery sidebar. If Omaha National Cemetery is fully reserved, those alternatives are typically the next options.