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VA National Cemetery

Houston National Cemetery

10410 Veterans Memorial Drive · Houston, TX 77038

Open for burial

Houston National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Houston, Texas. 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 Houston National Cemetery

The Houston Veterans Administration Cemetery was dedicated December 7, 1965. It was the only government cemetery constructed in the United States during the 1960s.

The present-day Houston National Cemetery was the largest of its kind at the time of construction. Designed entirely by VA staff, it was also the only new VA cemetery not located on the grounds of a VA hospital. Prior to Houston's opening, the last VA cemetery established was at Eagle Point VA Medical Center, Oregon, in 1952. The largest VA cemeteries at the time were in Los Angeles at 114.47 acres, and Leavenworth, KS, at 113.15 acres. At 419.2 acres, the Houston facility was slightly smaller than the 450 acres or so of Arlington National Cemetery, to which it was compared.

Houston became a national cemetery in 1973 after the passage of the National Cemetery Act.

In 2017, the Houston National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historical Places.

Monuments and Memorials The Hemicycle at Houston National Cemetery is its largest memorial and the most visible structure on the landscape. It is the only NCA-managed hemicycle memorial and is one of only three known hemicycles located in national cemeteries. The others are located at Arlington National Cemetery, VA, operated by the U.S. Army, and at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

At the keystone, or center, of the hemicycle are the chapel, carillon and speaker's stand. David Parsons, a professor of art at Rice University, sculpted a 20' x 6' bas relief of three interlocking forms, a fallen soldier supported by two comrades. The sculpture, made of crushed quartz, was installed at the chapel entrance in 1965. The 75-foot tower, 305-bell, Schulmerich "Americana" carillon was dedicated May 30, 1970.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Houston 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:

Captain James H.

Fields (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 10th Armored Infantry, 4th Armored Division, for actions near Rechicourt, France, September 27, 1944. Fields died in 1970 and is buried in Section H-B, Site 6.

Sergeant Major Macario Garcia (World War II).

Macario Garcia, native of Mexico, enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 11, 1942. He was a staff sergeant with Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, until October 8, 1945. On November 27, 1944, near Grosshau, Germany, a wounded Garcia single-handedly destroyed two enemy machinegun emplacements. He received the Medal of Honor on August 23, 1945. Garcia worked as a counselor with the Veterans Administration for twenty-five years, until his death on December 24, 1972. He is buried in Section H-A, Site 1.

First Lieutenant Raymond L.

Knight (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in recognition of actions in a series of missions in the Northern Po Valley, Italy, and self-sacrifice trying to fly his shattered aircraft to its home field. Knight crashed and was killed on April 25, 1945. His remains were reinterred on April 25, 1992, in Section H-B, Site 11.

First Sergeant David H.

McNerney (Vietnam). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, for actions at Polei Doc, Republic of Vietnam, March 22, 1967. McNerney died in 2010 and is buried in Section H-A, Site 4.

Specialist Fifth Class Clarence Eugene Sasser (Vietnam).

Clarence Sasser (1947–2024), a native of Rosharon, TX, enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 1967. SP5 Sasser served as a medical aidman with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, and received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on January 10, 1968. On that day, while his unit was under attack, Sasser ran across an open rice paddy to render aid to his wounded comrades, receiving multiple wounds in the process. He continued to treat the wounded, despite severe loss of blood, until evacuation helicopters came the next morning. Sasser received his Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on March 7, 1969. After the war, he married and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Houston. Clarence Sasser passed away on May 13, 2024, and is buried in Section H-A, Site 3.

Other Burials The most renowned veteran buried in the cemetery is the late Honorable Albert Thomas, United States Congressman from Texas.

Congressman Thomas served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War I, and served almost 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was instrumental in getting this cemetery established by Congress. "Congressman Albert," as his many friends knew him, died in Washington, D.C., on February 15, 1966, and was buried in the mall area of the Houston National Cemetery, on February 18, 1966.

Hazel Juanita Shofner (1918–1966) was born in Texas and for most of her life made Houston home.

She graduated from Northside High School in 1937 and joined the war effort in September 1943. She was the first woman from the city to enlist in the U.S. Navy reserve corps or WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Shofner served from 1943 to 1948 and attained the rank of chief yeoman. Her career began at Gulfport, Missisippi, in November 1943 and finished at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. As a civilian, she returned to Houston and married Everett Murray Wilson, also a veteran of the U.S. Navy. They raised two children there and she worked for the police department in the data-processing bureau. Hazel Shofner Wilson died February 16 and was the first woman buried in Houston National Cemetery .

Section C, Site 59

Directions

Cemetery is located 15 miles northwest of downtown Houston. From Bush Intercontinental Airport take John F. Kennedy Blvd. South to Beltway 8. Turn right onto Beltway 8 West and exit at Ella. Follow the feeder road West to the third traffic light, and turn left on Veterans Memorial Drive. Proceed to the first traffic light and turn left on T.C. Jester. The cemetery entrance will be on your right.

Flowers and grounds rules

Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing. Flowers will be picked up on the first Thursday of each month

Who can be buried at Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

Where is the Houston National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Houston 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 Houston National Cemetery directly at 281-447-8686.

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 Texas law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Texas 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 Houston National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

Funeral homes near Houston 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. 0.2 mi from the cemetery
  2. 1.0 mi from the cemetery
  3. 1.1 mi from the cemetery
  4. 1.1 mi from the cemetery
  5. 2.0 mi from the cemetery
  6. 2.9 mi from the cemetery

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