Jacksonville National Cemetery

Jacksonville National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida. 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 Jacksonville National Cemetery

In 1997, St. Augustine National Cemetery closed to new interments, except for second burials of dependents. As a result, there was no local burial option for veterans in northern Florida. In response, the National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003 authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish six new national cemeteries in areas with at least 170,000 residents not currently served by burial locations for veterans. Jacksonville was one of the areas selected.

NCA acquired the site of Jacksonville National Cemetery in 2008. At the time, the property was owned by the city, and leased for ranching. Jacksonville National Cemetery was formally dedicated later that year, and opened for burials in 2009. Jacksonville National Cemetery is the seventh national cemetery in Florida and the 128th in the national cemetery system.

The City of Jacksonville was founded in 1821 on the St. Johns River, in northern Florida. The city was named after General Andrew Jackson, hero of the War of 1812, military governor of the Florida Territory, and future president of the United States (1829–1837).

Agriculture dominated the Florida Territory's early economy. During the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), military operations disrupted trade between Jacksonville and settlements in the interior of the territory, but the city itself was not the scene of fighting. A few years after the end of the war in 1845, Florida became a state.

At the onset of the Civil War Jacksonville served as a key Confederate port. The city was blockaded and occupied by Union forces in 1862; the occupation continued intermittently throughout the conflict. The largest battle in Florida took place 50 miles west of Jacksonville, in February 1864. In an attempt to push the war to an end, the Union Army launched an expedition into the interior of Florida to cut off Confederate supply routes and recruit African Americans. Union troops led by Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour moved west, meeting little resistance until February 20. On that day, Seymour's forces clashed with Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan's Confederates in the Battle of Olustee. Finegan's troops repulsed the Union attacks, and forced Seymour and his army to retreat back to Jacksonville.

After the war, Jacksonville's economy was in ruins; the city grew slowly during Reconstruction. Bright spots included the timber and tourism industries, as Jacksonville served as the head of navigation for steamboats entering the St. Johns River. In the 1880s and 1890s, the city began to emerge as an important regional railroad hub. Due to its extensive transportation facilities, Jacksonville served as a troop cantonment during the Spanish-American War (1898).

On May 3, 1901, sparks from a kitchen fire ignited drying Spanish moss at a downtown Jacksonville mattress factory. The fire soon spread and a large swath of the city was destroyed. The Great Fire of 1901 was the largest urban fire in the southern United States; the city spent the next decade rebuilding. Many of the new downtown office and commercial buildings were designed by Henry John Klutho, an architect influenced by the Prairie-style popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. Kuthlo's 1912 masterwork, the St. James Building, covered an entire downtown block and may be the largest Prairie-style building in the world. Built as a department store, today it functions as the city hall. Jacksonville's rebuilding effort led to a surge of population in the 1920s.

In 1940, the U.S. Navy established Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS JAX), as part of the military buildup prior to World War II. Increased defense spending bolstered the economy during the war. NAS JAX continues to be a large employer in the area as the third largest U.S. Navy installation.

A surge in postwar suburban development led to emigration of affluent families from Jacksonville, leaving the city with a significantly reduced tax base. Concurrently, residents in the unincorporated suburbs had difficulty obtaining municipal services, including sewage and building code enforcement. By the 1960s, this combination of factors led to an effort to consolidate the city and Duval County governments. A 1967 referendum was overwhelmingly passed by voters, and the next year the consolidated City of Jacksonville was formed. Twenty times its former size, the new city became the world's largest as measured by land area. By this metric, today Jacksonville is the largest city in the contiguous United States.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Jacksonville National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.

Directions

From Downtown Jacksonville: Take Interstate 95 North. Merge onto Interstate 295 South via Exit 362B. Merge onto Lem Turner Road/FL-115 North via Exit 32. Turn right onto Lannie Road. End at 4083 Lannie Road.

From Jacksonville Airport and South Georgia: Take Interstate 95 South. Merge onto Interstate 295 South via Exit 362B. Merge onto Lem Turner Road/FL-115 North via Exit 32. Turn right onto Lannie Road. End at 4083 Lannie Road.

Flowers and grounds rules

Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public. The cemetery does not provide flower containers. However, bins are located throughout the grounds with recycled temporary containers for your use.

Two floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Arrangements are removed from gravesites three days after the burial or when they become withered and unsightly. 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.

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

Where is the Jacksonville National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville National Cemetery directly at 904-766-5222.

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

• St. Augustine National Cemetery, St. Augustine, FL: 52 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
• Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery - Glennville, Glennville, GA: 98 mi, open for burials
• Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, Mims, FL: 134 mi, open for burials