National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from dawn to dusk.

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans 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.

» Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery

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
The West Virginia National Cemetery is fortunate to have several groups in the local area that will render Military Funeral Honors upon request for any veteran interred in this cemetery. They perform a very dignified and compassionate service and consider it an honor to do this for a fellow comrade. For contact information please contact the cemetery.

For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.

The West Virginia National Cemetery is not responsible for any items left at the gravesite. Flowers are placed at your own risk; they will not be replaced by the cemetery if they are lost, stolen or damaged.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave.

We welcome and encourage fresh-cut flowers throughout the year. They will be removed when they become withered, faded or otherwise unsightly. The cemetery supplies temporary vases for visitors to use when placing flowers at a gravesite. The vases are located in receptacles throughout the cemetery. Water is also available at that same location.

Permanent in-ground flower containers are not permitted.

During the growing seasons, all floral items will be removed from graves weekly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as for mowing and trimming.

Artificial flowers are allowed after the end of mowing operations in the fall and must be removed when mowing operations resume in the spring.

Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20.

Floral items and other types of decorations cannot be secured to the headstones. Unauthorized items will be removed and discarded.

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.

Any questions or concerns please feel free to contact the cemetery.

West Virginia National Cemetery is located approximately five miles west of Grafton, WV, in Taylor County. Beginning in the 1960s, it became increasingly apparent that the Grafton National Cemetery was running out of burial space. As a result, West Virginia veterans' organizations began lobbying for a second national cemetery. In 1975, after extensive studies to determine whether or not Grafton could be expanded, authorities determined that the grounds were too steep and the cost too prohibitive. The West Virginia United Veterans National Cemetery Committee was formed and began to pressure the governor and members of the congressional delegation for a new national cemetery.

After extensive negotiations between the Veterans Administration and the state, a 58-acre tract that had been part of the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys was selected for use as a new cemetery. The land was transferred, but construction was delayed by inclement weather and negotiations with local contractors. Although construction was incomplete, the cemetery was dedicated September 27, 1987, and opened for interments the following day.

Monuments and Memorials
The Industrial School for Boys monument is a granite memorial that was dedicated in 1992. It was erected in memory of residents of the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys who were buried at the cemetery between 1890 and 1939.