Prescott National Cemetery
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MT. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
This cemetery has columbarium space available to accommodate 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.
From Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, take Interstate 17 North (Flagstaff) and proceed to Cordes Junction for approximately 60 miles. Take Highway 69 West toward Prescott for approximately 34 miles. The cemetery is located on the left on Highway 69 as you approach Prescott.
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.
The National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona oversees this cemetery. If you are unable to reach the cemetery staff at the number above, please call 480-513-3600.
Military Funeral Honors
The Department of Defense provides honor guard details for all Veteran services.
The following activities are PROHIBITED:
- Any form of sport or recreation, to include, but not limited to jogging, bicycling, picnicking, or skating
- Drinking of alcoholic beverages
- Destruction of Government property to include, but not limited to markers, trees, shrubs, and plantings
- Littering of the grounds
- Pets in burial areas
- Public gathering of a partisan nature
- Driver education activities
- Private maintenance of gravesites
- Any demeaning or boisterous action
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
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.
Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
Permanent plantings, statues, 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 beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
All grave decorations will be removed and discarded starting:
- January 23, 2023 through January 27, 2023
- July 10, 2023 through July 14, 2023
- January 22, 2024 through January 26, 2024
- July 8, 2024 through July 12, 2024
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.
Prescott National Cemetery is located in Prescott, AZ, adjacent to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The cemetery, which closed to new interments in 1974, covers a little over 15 acres. Interments were made here primarily because it was a conveniently safe distance from Fort Whipple, Arizona, where attacks from local Native Americans were more likely.
The present site of Prescott National Cemetery is thought to be its third location. The original cemetery was established when Fort Whipple was a camp near Del Rio Springs in 1864, and was moved soon after. The cemetery was relocated again in 1869 to its current location because flash floods washed out numerous burials in the previous site. These floods may account for the majority of the 25 unknown graves in the cemetery.
Prescott National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Monuments and Memorials
Prescott National Cemetery has an Unknown Soldiers Monument made of white marble rusticated to look like blocks with a centered cross on top.
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 Nicholas Foran (Indian Wars). Foran received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company L, 8th U.S. Cavalry, for actions in the Arizona Territory, from August to October 1868. Foran died in 1927 and is buried in Section 1, Row B, Site 54.
We are developing educational content for this national cemetery, and will post new materials as they become available. Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
