National Cemetery Administration
Mountain Home National Cemetery
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains.
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
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.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
Military Funeral Honors
In addition to the military funeral honors provided by the Department of Defense several local Veterans Service Organization units and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves may be able to provide military funeral honors. Contact the cemetery office for further information.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
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.
Artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 5 days before through 5 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Seasonal Holiday Adornments such as Christmas wreaths, potted poinsettias and other seasonal items may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20.
To maintain the dignity of the cemetery, permanent plants, statues, balloons, pinwheels, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves.
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery, or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury. Nothing may be attached to or placed on the headstone.
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
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.
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 390 Medal of Honor recipients interred in VA national cemeteries.
» Medal of Honor recipients buried or memorialized here:
Sergeant Henry G. Buhrman (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company H, 54th Ohio Infantry, for actions at Vicksburg, MS, May 22, 1863. Buhrman died in 1906 and is buried in Section C, Row 2, Site 12.
Lieutenant Frederick Clarence Buck (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 21st Connecticut Infantry, for actions at Chapin's Farm, VA, on September 29, 1864. Buck died in 1905 and is buried in Section F, Row 1, Site 9.
Seaman Thomas Smith (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy for actions on board the USS Magnolia, St. Marks, FL, March 5–6, 1865. He died in 1905 and is buried in Section G, Row 1, Site 3.
Staff Sergeant Junior James Spurrier (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company G, 134th Infantry, 35th Infantry Division, for actions in northeastern France at Achain, November 13, 1944. He died in 1984 and is buried in Section HH, Row 15, Site 8.
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.
Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
