National Cemetery Administration
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
NCA marks 50 years (1973-2023) of serving America's Veterans, Service Members, and Families.
Learn more and watch NCA's 50th Anniversary Ceremony.
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Open all holidays except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's 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.
From Sacramento: Take I-80 West approximately 28 miles to Exit 60, Midway Rd. Turn left onto Midway Rd. and the cemetery will be 1.3 miles on the right.
From Sacramento International Airport: The cemetery is 33 miles (53 km) from Sacramento International Airport (SMF). Take Interstate 5 North towards Woodland. Merge onto 113 South towards Davis. Take Interstate I-80 West. Take Exit 59 "Meridian Rd/Weber Rd". (DETOUR for unusable bridge at exit 60), Turn left onto Weber Rd. Travel 1.1 miles, then turn left on Lewis Road. Follow Lewis Road to the "T" at Midway Road. Take a right on Midway Road and the cemetery will be 1.2 miles on the right.
From San Francisco: Take I-80 East approximately 60 miles to Exit 60, Midway Rd. Turn right onto Midway Rd. and the cemetery will be 1.2 miles on the right
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.
Grave Location
The grave location of your loved one is furnished on the map included in the burial document folder. There is a gravesite locator in the administration building for those who may not know the location of the gravesite. The cemetery office personnel are available to assist visitors during office hours.
Grave Marker
A temporary grave marker is used to mark the grave following the interment. A permanent grave marker will be furnished free of charge by the Government without application from the family. Every effort is made to have the grave marker delivered and set within 60 days from the day of interment.
Grounds Maintenance
Immediately after each interment, the grave is filled and leveled and may require repeated renovation. Matters that appear to need immediate corrective action should be brought to the attention of the cemetery office personnel.
Military Funeral Honors
Each veteran interred at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery is authorized a military funeral honors detail consisting of at least two uniformed personnel from the veteran's branch of service to fold and present the flag and play "Taps", upon request of the family or funeral home. Your local funeral director can assist you with arranging for these honors. If you are not utilizing a funeral home, please wait until after you have scheduled with the National Cemetery Scheduling Office (see "Schedule a Burial" above), and you have a date and time for burial to request military honors from the Branch of Service of the veteran. NOTE: The three rifle volley salute is generally not provided by the Department of Defense for veterans unless they died on active duty. The Air Force, however, currently provides a rifle volley for retirees. The firing of the three rifle volley salute is available for all other retirees and veterans only upon request of the family by contacting 415-619-9554 or by visiting Service Veterans of Northern California Volunteer Honor Guard. The services of the SVNCHG are performed at no cost to the family of the deceased.
US Army (Sacramento Joint Forces Headquarters SJFQ): 916-854-3821
US Marines: 866-826-3628 or 703-432-9524
US Navy: 800-326-9631 or 619-556-7178 (or 9790) or 916-380-8449
US Air Force: 800-586-8402
US Coast Guard: 510-239-1900
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted throughout the cemetery and can also be accessed at the automated kiosks located near the entrance to the administration building.
Cemetery personnel will transport up to three (3) floral arrangements with your loved one's casket or urn to gravesite. Natural, fresh-cut flowers are welcomed on graves any time. We remove flowers when they become unsightly or to facilitate mowing. Plastic floral cones are available in containers throughout the cemetery.
One small American flag may be placed on the grave. We remove it when it becomes damaged, faded, or tattered, and dispose of it properly. No object shall be attached to a marker or niche cover, protrude above the top of an upright headstone or encroach on an adjacent grave.
Artificial flowers may only be placed on graves from five (5) days before through five (5) days after, Easter Sunday and Memorial Day. Potted plants may only be placed on graves five (5) days before through five (5) days after, Easter Sunday and Memorial Day. Christmas wreaths and grave blankets only may be placed on graves from December 1st through January 5th.
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery, or may pose a safety hazard. Permanent plantings, statues, battery or solar-powered items, balloons, breakable items, and commemorative items are not allowed at any time.
Cemetery personnel will routinely inspect for unsightly, unsafe, or unauthorized items. Durable items removed from graves will be held for one month. These items remain property of the donor, but are under custodianship of the cemetery. If not claimed within 30 days, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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.
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery is the seventh national cemetery built in California and the 124th in the national cemetery system.
Like many lands in the western United States, the Homestead Act of 1862 facilitated the settlement of the site of what is now the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery. In the late 1860's, the site consisted of nine separate parcels, which were subsequently acquired by private citizens through preemption (an individual's right to settle land first and pay for it later) and homestead claims. During the 20th century, these separate parcels were gradually consolidated under one owner. The site was continuously used as farmland from the 1860's until it was purchased by the National Cemetery Administration in 2004. Crops raised on the property at the time of NCA's purchase included corn, alfalfa, beans, squash, and peppers.
The Union Pacific Railroad, formerly the Southern Pacific Railroad, and prior to that the Central Pacific Railroad, intersects the southeastern corner of the property. In May 1869, the famous golden spike was driven in Promontory Summit, Utah, to symbolically mark the completion of the "First Trans-Continental Railroad," connecting Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento. However, the rail network did not actually reach the Pacific Ocean until the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad, connecting San Francisco and Sacramento in November of that year.
The First Trans-Continental Railroad linked the West Coast with the existing railroad network in the eastern United States, and contributed dramatically to the economic development and population growth of California. The Southern Pacific Railroad leased the Central Pacific railroad in 1885; over time, the Southern Pacific Railroad grew into a massive railway network throughout the Western and Southwestern United Sates, stretching down from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans. The Southern Pacific Railroad was acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1996.
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery opened for burials in 2006, and was formally dedicated on April 22, 2007.
Monuments and Memorials
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery features a memorial pathway lined with a variety of memorials that honor America's veterans. As of 2017, there are 9 memorials here.
Newman Camay Golden was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 12, 1919. He joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, graduated from the Tuskegee pilot training program in 1944, and served with the 99th Fighter Group in Italy. Photographer Toni Frissell recorded the Tuskegee Airmen stationed at Ramitelli in 1945. Flight Officer Golden appears in several photographs. Soon after, on March 20, during a bomber escort mission over Austria, Golden parachuted from his damaged aircraft. He was imprisoned at Moosburg until Allied forces arrived to liberate the camp. Golden then enlisted to serve in the Korean War. On October 17, 1951, 1st Lieutenant Golden's aircraft was hit, burst into flames and crashed. Golden was missing in action until March 31, 1954, when his status changed to killed in action. 1st LT Golden received the Purple Heart, and in July 2014, a memorial for him took place at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery (Section MW, Row A, Site 01-A).
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.
