Mountain Home National Cemetery

Mountain Home National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Mountain Home, Tennessee. 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 Mountain Home National Cemetery

Mountain Home National Cemetery is located in the northeastern section of Tennessee in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains within the city limits of Johnson City. The cemetery is on the grounds of the Mountain Home Veterans Administration Center.

Originally known as the Mountain Home Branch of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteered Soldiers, the facility was the product of sustained efforts by Tennessee Congressman Walter Preston Brownlow. In 1901 Congress approved a bill introduced by Brownlow to establish a national home in the Johnson City area. A designated board of managers chose a 450-acre site and commissioned New York architect J. H. Freedlander to design 36 French Renaissance-style buildings. The home opened October 15, 1903. Five years later, special dispensation was granted to permit the interment of Congressman Brownlow in the Mountain Home cemetery. He and his wife occupy the only graves inside Monument Circle.

The Mountain Home Branch of the National Homes was the ninth, and last, of its kind funded by Congress to care for Union veterans of the Civil War. In 1973, it was transferred to the Veterans Administration and the home cemetery became a national cemetery.

The cemetery is part of the Mountain Home Branch-National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers National Historic Landmark district, designated on June 17, 2011.

Monuments and Memorials This cemetery contains no monuments or memorials.

Notable interments

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

Directions

Directions From the Tri-City Airport: Turn left onto Highway 75 and proceed four miles. Turn left onto Highway 36 south and go approximately 10 miles. Highway 36 then turns into Highway 11E. Proceed on 11E south to the 9th traffic light. This is the intersection of West Market (11E) and Veterans Way. Turn left onto Veterans Way. Continue three blocks to the entrance of James H. Quillen VA Medical Center. Cemetery is on the right.

Directions From the Mountain Home Historical Cemetery: At the main gates, follow Memorial Boulevard towards the Post Office. At the stop sign, turn right onto Ashe St. Follow Ashe to the next intersection. Turn left onto Fifth St. Follow Fifth St. to the next stop sign. Going straight, it becomes W. Lake St. Follow W. Lake St. 1/2 block to the Mountain Home Cemetery sign. Turn right at the sign, this is Heroes Drive. The next building on the right is the administration office.

Flowers and grounds rules

Our cemetery floral policies are posted on the floral storage receptacles located throughout the cemetery. We welcome fresh-cut flowers throughout the year and provide flower containers for gravesite displays as a courtesy. Once the flowers become unsightly, we will remove them. They also may be removed for routine maintenance.

Limited floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial can be placed on the completed grave.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Mountain Home National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Mountain Home National Cemetery

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

Where is the Mountain Home National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home National Cemetery directly at 423-979-3535.

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

• Mountain Home National Cemetery Annex, Mountain Home, TN: 0 mi, open for burials
• Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery, Black Mountain, NC: 48 mi, open for burials
• Kentucky Veterans Cemetery - Southeast, Hyden, KY: 82 mi, open for burials