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Puerto Rico National Cemetery burial schedule and eligibility

Bayamon, Pr · VA national cemetery

Address, hours, directions and contact details: Puerto Rico National Cemetery.

VeteranFunerals Editorial·5 min read·May 1, 2026·Facts checked

You can look up burials at Puerto Rico National Cemetery on VA's daily burial schedule, which lists the committal services families have agreed to publish. Veterans who were not dishonorably discharged can be buried here, and so can their spouses and some dependent children. To schedule a burial, you or the funeral director call VA's National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117. VA lists Puerto Rico National Cemetery as closed to new burials, so ask the scheduling office whether an existing family gravesite can be used.

History of Puerto Rico National Cemetery

The Puerto Rico National Cemetery is located on the north side of the island in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and is approximately 13 miles from San Juan, the capital. The cemetery serves as an American presence on the island and many distinguished Puerto Ricans who served in the U.S. military are interred there.

Prior to becoming a national cemetery, the land where the cemetery is now located was owned by the U.S. Navy and it was used as a machine gun range. After World War II, the land was transferred to the Department of the Army specifically for the construction of a new national cemetery. Negotiations for construction of the cemetery began after the land was transferred on July 12, 1948 and the private firm of Font & Montilla was contracted to build the cemetery.

The 108.2-acre cemetery was dedicated on Veteran's Day in 1949 and it is the only national cemetery located in Puerto Rico. According to El Diario, the local newspaper, the dedication was attended by both local and military officials such as Luis Munoz-Marin, the Governor of Puerto Rico, and Major General Herman Feldman, the Quartermaster of the U.S. Army. In his remarks during the dedication, Feldman noted that, "practically every family in Puerto Rico had a representative in uniform during World War II." Since its dedication, Puerto Rico National Cemetery has been a shrine to Puerto Ricans who served in the armed forces.

The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26, 1983.

Notable veterans buried at Puerto Rico National Cemetery

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note at Puerto Rico National Cemetery, with section and site where it has them.

  • Medal of Honor
  • The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 434 Medal of Honor recipients interred at VA national cemeteries including 6 double recipients.
  • Medal of Honor recipients interred or memorialized here:
  • Private First Class Fernando Luis Garcia-Ledesma (Korea). Fernando Luis Garcia-Ledesma, native of Puerto Rico, joined the U.S. Marine Corps on September 19, 1951. He served in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On September 5, 1952, less than a year in service, a wounded Garcia-Ledesma was under heavy attack from enemy forces while attempting to secure weapons. Without regard for personal safety he threw himself on a grenade and saved a comrade. Private First Class Garcia-Ledesma received the Medal of Honor posthumously on October 25, 1953. He is memorialized in Section MB, Site 3.
  • Sergeant Major Juan Enrique Negron-Martinez (Korea). Juan Enrique Negron-Martinez, native of Puerto Rico, enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1948 and served in Company L, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. The 65th Infantry is known as the Borinqueneers, after the soldiers' Puerto Rican heritage. On April 28, 1951, Sergeant Major Negron-Martinez took the most vulnerable position while fighting the enemy in Kalma-Eri, Korea. When his company began to withdraw, he continued his assault while the company organized and launched a counterattack. Negron-Martinez received numerous medals for his service and stayed in the army until March 1971. Negron-Martinez was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 18, 2014, posthumously. He died March 29, 1996, and is buried in Section J, Site 3180.
  • Captain Euripides Rubio, Jr. (Vietnam). Euripides Rubio, Jr., native of Puerto Rico, enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 18, 1959, and was a communications officer with Headquarters Company, 28th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. On November 8, 1966, in Tay Ninh Province, Captain Rubio and his comrades were heavily attacked by enemy forces. Although injured twice, he assumed command and redirected an air strike before dying of his wounds, for which Rubio, Jr., received the Medal of Honor. He is buried in Section HSA, Site 5.
  • Other Burials Col. Bailey K. Ashford, Spanish American War. Disinterred from Ft. Brooke Military Cemetery and re-interred in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery on April 20, 1954 in Section A, Site 1204.
  • As a recently commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Col. Baily K. Ashford accompanied a military expedition to Puerto Rico in 1898. Serving as the medical officer in the general military hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he was the first to describe and successfully treat North American hookworm in 1899. He was a tireless clinician and conducted an exhaustive study of the anemia caused by hookworm infestation, which was responsible for as many as 12,000 deaths a year. From 1903–1904, he organized and conducted a parasite treatment campaign, which cured approximately 300,000 persons (one-third of the Puerto Rico population) and reduced the death rate from this anemia by 90 percent.

Visiting hours at Puerto Rico National Cemetery

Visitation Hours: Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Open Memorial Day and Veterans Day from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Who can be buried at Puerto Rico National Cemetery?

VA national cemeteries accept a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty or in training, the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse (even if they remarried), and minor or, in some cases, unmarried adult dependent children. National Guard and Reserve members qualify under narrower rules. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision in advance; it does not reserve a gravesite.

What does burial here include at no cost?

  • A gravesite in any VA national cemetery with available space
  • Opening and closing of the grave
  • A government-provided burial liner
  • A government-provided headstone or marker
  • Perpetual care of the gravesite

Veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate (presented to the next of kin at the burial) and military funeral honors, which include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the flag. The committal service is held at a committal shelter, not at the grave, and lasts about 20 minutes. National cemeteries have no viewing facilities, so the funeral itself is held elsewhere.

How do you schedule a burial at Puerto Rico National Cemetery?

  1. Gather the veteran's DD214 or other discharge papers, and the deceased's details (Social Security number, dates of birth and death, relationship to the veteran).
  2. Fax the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417, or email them to [email protected] with the deceased's name in the subject line.
  3. You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Puerto Rico National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

VA lists Puerto Rico National Cemetery as closed. Ask the scheduling office what, if anything, can still be arranged here, and about open national cemeteries nearby.

Where is the Puerto Rico National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Puerto Rico National Cemetery to see the committal services planned there. It only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them. To change or cancel a burial that's already scheduled, contact Puerto Rico National Cemetery directly at 787-798-8400.

Headstone, flag and burial allowance

  • Government headstone or marker: tell the scheduling office which headstone, marker, niche cover or medallion you want when you schedule the burial.
  • Burial flag: VA Form 27-2008.
  • Burial allowance: For a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays up to $1,032 toward burial and funeral costs and $1,032 for a plot; for a service-connected death on or after September 11, 2001, the burial allowance is up to $2,000. Claim it with VA Form 21P-530EZ. All benefits

After the funeral: survivor benefits and the estate

A surviving spouse, child or parent may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax-free monthly VA benefit, for example when the death was service connected (VA Form 21P-534EZ). For the rest of the paperwork, from Social Security to bank accounts, DeathUS has a step-by-step checklist of what to do when someone dies.

Funeral homes near Puerto Rico National Cemetery

A funeral director usually arranges the burial with the cemetery. These are the closest funeral homes by straight-line distance. Each one links to its full listing on FuneralUS, our funeral home directory.

  1. 0.6 mi from the cemetery
  2. 6.0 mi from the cemetery
  3. 6.6 mi from the cemetery
  4. Funeraria Buxeda
    San Juan, PR
    7.0 mi from the cemetery
  5. 7.2 mi from the cemetery
  6. 15.6 mi from the cemetery

Search all funeral homes by ZIP on FuneralUS

FAQ

Questions about burial at Puerto Rico National Cemetery

  • Is burial at Puerto Rico National Cemetery free?

    Yes, for eligible veterans, spouses and dependent children. VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a burial liner, a headstone or marker, and perpetual care at no cost. The funeral home's services, such as transport and any service before the burial, are arranged and paid for separately.

  • Can I reserve a gravesite at Puerto Rico National Cemetery in advance?

    No. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision before a death, but VA says the decision letter doesn't name a cemetery or gravesite, because neither can be reserved in advance.

  • How do I schedule a burial at Puerto Rico National Cemetery?

    Fax the veteran's discharge papers to 866-900-6417 or email them to [email protected]. Then you or the funeral director call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET). National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

  • Where can I see the burial schedule for Puerto Rico National Cemetery?

    On VA's daily burial schedule at https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/dailyburialschedule/. It covers every national cemetery, but it only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them.

  • Are military funeral honors provided at Puerto Rico National Cemetery?

    Yes, if you ask for them. Your funeral director, a Veterans Service Organization or the cemetery staff can arrange them. At minimum, two uniformed service members fold and present the burial flag at the committal shelter, and Taps is played.

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