National Cemetery Administration

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 and Veterans Day.

VA will continue its practice of honoring special requests for weekend burials for religious purposes, in cases of service members killed in action and on at least one day of any three-day Federal holiday weekend at all open VA national cemeteries. NCA will assess adding other options and national cemeteries in the future.

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.

Throughout the cemetery there are isolated committal shelters for use by families who wish to hold committal services prior to burial of their loved ones. The main entrance of the cemetery hosts the Public Information Center and cortege lanes for arriving services. All information about the cemetery can be obtained in this location.

Military Funeral Honors
Florida National Cemetery staff maintains a list of Veterans Service Organization units that may be contacted to arrange a military honor group in addition to or in lieu of the Department of Defense Military Funeral Honors.

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

Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time. Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial are limited to three for casket burials and one for cremation burials. Flowers will be removed when they become unsightly or it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.

A limited number of floral containers are located in bins in front of the burial sections — they are available as a courtesy. These containers are recycled — please do not remove them from the cemetery. Metal flower stands are no longer authorized at the gravesites due to safety concerns.

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.

Seasonal Holiday Decorations such as Christmas wreaths, potted poinsettias and other seasonal decorations may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20.

No item or object may be attached to a headstone or marker in a national cemetery. Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects, and similar items are not permitted on the graves. Items considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery, or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel are prohibited.

Florida National Cemetery is located in the Withlacoochee State Forest, approximately 50 miles north of Tampa in Sumter County, FL. Withlacoochee State Forest was acquired by the federal government from private landowners between 1936 and 1939 under the provisions of the U.S. Land Resettlement Administration. The U.S. Forest Service managed the property until a lease-purchase agreement transferred it to the Florida Board of Forestry in 1958. Currently, Withlacoochee State Forest is the second-largest state forest in Florida, divided into eight distinct tracts of land.

In 1842, Congress encouraged settlement here by establishing the Armed Occupation Act. The law granted a patent for 160 acres to any man who kept a gun and ammunition, built a house, cultivated five acres of the land and remained there for at least five years. Settlers moved in to take advantage of the generous offer. The area contained abundant timber and suitable farmland, appealing attributes to frontiersmen. In 1845 Florida was granted statehood.

During the Civil War, a sugar mill on the Homosassa River supplied sugar to the Confederacy. A robust citrus-growing industry developed in the eastern part of the area and became a focus of intense economic expansion soon after the war.

In 1980, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it would establish a new national cemetery in Florida, its fourth. Two major locations for the cemetery were studied: Cross Florida Barge Canal and Withlacoochee State Forest. The Withlacoochee site, though more environmentally sensitive, was supported by government officials. On February 15, 1983, the state transferred land to the VA for the development of a Florida National Cemetery. The first interment was in 1988.

Monument and Memorials
The cemetery features a Memorial Pathway that is lined with a variety of memorials that honor America's veterans. As of April 2018, there were 51 such memorials at Florida National Cemetery—most commemorating soldiers and veterans of 20th-century conflicts.

The American Veterans (AMVETS) donated a carillon on October 9, 1993, which is located in the open meadow adjacent to the original administration building. The main assembly area is adorned with an open colonnade where Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies are held.