Calverton National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Calverton, New York. VA lists it as open for burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.
Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026
History of Calverton National Cemetery
Calverton National Cemetery is located in eastern Long Island between the towns of Manorville and Riverhead in Suffolk County. When the National Cemetery System constructed Calverton National Cemetery in 1978, the cemetery became the third national cemetery to be located on Long Island. The other national cemeteries situated on Long Island were Cypress Hills National Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York, which was established in 1862 and Long Island National Cemetery, in Farmingdale, New York, established in 1936. St. Albans National Cemetery was established in Queens, New York in 2025.
In 1974, Long Island National Cemetery was the only national cemetery on Long Island with available space for first interment burials, but its maximum burial capacity was soon to be exhausted. As a result, plans were developed by the National Cemetery System to construct a new regional cemetery to serve the greater New York area, home, then, to nearly three million Veterans and their dependents. On December 7, 1977, a 902-acre tract of land was transferred from the U.S. Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at Calverton to the Veterans Administration for use as a national cemetery. A later land transfer from the naval installation brought the national cemetery to 1,045 acres.
The National Cemetery System realized that Calverton National Cemetery would become one of its more active cemeteries. For that reason, they designed and built a feature called a committal "wheel" of shelters that permits multiple burial services to be held simultaneously. To the left of the main cemetery entrance, around the Veteran's Circle, are seven committal shelters. After the funeral service, the caskets are moved into the hub of the wheel and then transported to their respective gravesites. Calverton is one of the largest, and one of the most active national cemeteries currently overseen by the National Cemetery Administration.
Monuments and Memorials Calverton National Cemetery features a memorial walkway lined with a variety of memorials that honor America's Veterans. As of 2026, there are 28 memorials commemorating the service and sacrifice of our nation's Veterans.
Notable interments
The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Calverton National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.
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:
Lieutenant Michael P.
Murphy (Afghanistan). He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in Afghanistan during Operation Redwing, June 28, 2005. Murphy is buried in Section 67, Site 3710.
Other Burials A Pennsylvania native of Polish descent, Francis S.
Gabreski enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1940. During World War I, Col. Gabreski flew with the Royal Air Force 315th Squadron of Polish pilots and, once the United States declared war, the U.S. 61st Fighter Squadron. Gabreski's tactical skills and courage earned him the title, "America's Greatest Living Ace." With thirty victories to his credit in 1944 and awaiting orders for leave, he volunteered for one more mission. He crashed and was captured, and held at Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp for Allied airmen until March 1945. He briefly left service in 1946, but reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and served in Korea. Highly decorated and respected, he retired in 1967. Col. Gabreski died January 31, 2002 .
Section 14, Site 724
South Carolinian Isaac Woodard (1919–1992) enlisted in the U.S.
Army in 1942. Sergeant Woodard served in the Pacific Theater of World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946. In uniform, he boarded a bus for home and, en route, was brutally attacked and blinded. Woodard was one of many black servicemen who experienced discrimination and violence, but his case sparked a national outcry. The NAACP sought justice, musicians immortalized the travesty, and Orson Welles unmasked Woodard's attacker, police chief Lynwood Shull, on his radio show. Yet no charges were filed until President Harry Truman ordered an investigation. The jury acquitted Shull in less than a half hour. In response, Truman established a Civil Rights Commission and desegregated the military. In 2019, the city of Batesville, where Woodard was attacked, placed a historic marker that includes text in Braille about what happened there. Woodard is buried in Section 15, Site 2180.
Directions
Take the Long Island Expressway East (495) to Exit 68 (William Floyd Pkwy). Then take William Floyd Pkwy North to Route 25 East. The cemetery entrance is on the left in approximately four miles.
The nearest airport is Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip and travel time to the cemetery is about 30 minutes. JFK and LaGuardia are approximately 70 miles from the cemetery, making travel time approximately 90 minutes in local area traffic.
Flowers and grounds rules
Visitors to Calverton National Cemetery are reminded of its solemn purpose and asked to act in a dignified manner while on cemetery grounds.
You may place flowers on your loved ones' graves throughout the year.
Who can be buried at Calverton 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 Calverton National Cemetery?
- 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).
- 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.
- You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Calverton National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.
Where is the Calverton National Cemetery burial schedule?
VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Calverton 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 Calverton National Cemetery directly at 631-727-5410.
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). The veteran's estate is settled under New York law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in New York and lists each county's probate court. 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.
Nearest cemeteries
The three veterans cemeteries closest to Calverton National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:
- Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY: 33 mi, status not listed
- Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown, CT: 44 mi, open for burials
- St. Albans National Cemetery, Queens, NY: 52 mi, status not listed
Funeral homes near Calverton 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.
- Alexander-Tuthill Funeral HomeWading River, NY2.1 mi from the cemetery
- Rocky Point Funeral HomeROCKY POINT, NYMilitary honors services5.9 mi from the cemetery
- Seay Memorial ChapelRiverhead, NY7.3 mi from the cemetery
- Mclaughlin Heppner Funeral HomeRiverhead, NYMilitary honors services7.4 mi from the cemetery
- Mangano Funeral HomeMiddle Island, NY7.5 mi from the cemetery
- New York Dignified OptionsMiddle Island, NY7.6 mi from the cemetery