National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

New Bern National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed. When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis. Since there is no way to know in advance when a gravesite may become available, please contact the cemetery at the time of need to inquire whether space is available.

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
Either the family or a funeral director must make arrangements for military funeral honors. When these arrangements have been made, please notify the cemetery representative.

Some telephone numbers which may be helpful in obtaining military funeral honors are:

Local Numbers for Military Funeral Honors:
U.S. Air Force: 919-722-5324
U.S. Army: 910-396-4262
U.S. Coast Guard: 757-398-6390
U.S. Marine Corps: 910-451-2414
U.S. Navy: 904-542-1536

The Department of Veterans Affairs and cemetery staff members do not exercise authority over the extent, content, or nature of honors and ceremonies furnished by the individual branches of the military service. Questions and inquiries regarding these matters should be directed to the branch of service in which the veteran served.

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

Our floral and grounds policy exists to reflect the honor and respect we hold for our Nation's Veterans, by preserving the dignity and solemnity of their final resting place.

These items are welcome:

• Fresh-cut flowers (Anytime)
• Temporary Floral Containers (Located throughout the cemetery for public use)
• Artificial Flowers (November 1st – April 1st)
• Flags (Anytime)
• Potted Plants (a week before until a week after Easter Sunday)
• Holiday Wreaths & Grave Blankets less than 2 x 3ft (December 1 – January 10 and will be removed after January 20).

All items placed at gravesite are inspected daily and:

• May be removed when they become withered, faded, or unsightly.
• May be removed for mowing and trimming, in season.
• May NOT stand taller than the headstone.
• May NOT be secured to the headstone.

These items are prohibited: permanent plantings and vases, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects, and similar items. This includes, but is not limited to, hazardous materials, glass, metal, toys, candles, balloons, wind chimes, and pinwheels.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments which might be considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery, or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires which may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury. Unauthorized items will be removed immediately.

New Bern National Cemetery is located in New Bern, Craven County, NC. Founded in 1710, New Bern is the second-oldest city in the state, founded by German and Swiss adventurers whose commander was from city of the same name in Switzerland. Prior to the American Revolution, Royal Gov. William Tryon made this seaport his colonial capitol and commissioned the construction of Tryon Palace in 1770.

Although there was some dissension within the state regarding secession, North Carolina chose to leave the Union on May 20, 1861. Ultimately, it supplied more men and materials to the Confederate cause than any other southern state. It also suffered the largest number of losses. New Bern was captured early in the war. By August 1861, the Union army had secured the Pamlico Sound inlets after defeating the Confederate forces and taking Forts Clark and Hatteras. By winter 1862, Gen. A.E. Burnside and Commodore L.M. Goldsborough had seized the Confederate positions on Roanoke Island and New Berne (as it was originally spelled). Union control of the inner coastal position tightened the blockade of the North Carolina coast, but the state held out until April 26, 1865, when Gen. Joseph Johnston surrendered the last major Confederate army to Gen. William T. Sherman near Durham, NC.

New Bern National Cemetery was officially established February 1, 1867. Many of the burials at New Bern are reinterments of remains from the surrounding area, including Beaufort, Hatteras and locations along the coast. Over 1,000 unknowns are buried in a separate section.

New Bern National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Monuments and Memorials
The granite New Jersey Monument was erected by that state in 1905. It is dedicated to the memory of the 9th New Jersey Regiment Volunteer Infantry.

The Massachusetts Monument is a granite memorial erected by the commonwealth in 1908 in memory of Massachusetts's soldiers and sailors who died in North Carolina during the Civil War.

The Connecticut Monument was erected by that state in 1908. The memorial was dedicated to the memory of Connecticut men who died of yellow fever during the Civil War, as well as those who fell in action by 1865.

The Rhode Island Monument is composed of a granite base topped by a bronze figure. Dedicated October 6, 1909, it was donated by the state of Rhode Island in honor of its volunteers who died in North Carolina during the Civil War. The monument was designed and sculpted by William W. Manatt of Providence, RI.