Discover the Top 8 Unbelievable Fun Facts about Arlington National Cemetery!

1. First Burial: Private William Christman's Grave Situation

Talk about a grave situation: The first military burial at Arlington National Cemetery took place on May 13, 1864, for Private William Christman, after Brigadier General Montgomery Meigs ordered the estate's conversion to a cemetery due to overcrowded cemeteries in D.C. Arlington then became the resting place for mainly white Civil War soldiers, while Section 27 housed both African American soldiers and over 3,800 freed African Americans.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil

2. JFK's Eternal Party Flame

You might say John F. Kennedy's grave is lit, but not quite like a Saturday night soirée: At Arlington National Cemetery, JFK's gravesite has an eternal flame ignited by Jacqueline Kennedy during his state funeral in 1963. Mrs. Kennedy came up with the idea, and the flame burns from the center of a circular granite stone. Originally placed on a sloping hillside, the grave was moved in 1967 due to large crowds. Other Kennedy family members, including brothers Robert and Edward, rest nearby, truly making it a Kennedy family affair.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil

Did you know it took 50 years and two types of marble to complete the iconic Washington Monument? Discover this and more quirky facts about the towering tribute!

=> Fun Facts about The-Washington-Monument

3. Financial Destiny: Graveyard Budgeting Gone Digital

Once upon a time in a land of necropolis, bureaucracy met its reckoning: Arlington National Cemetery became a master of its own financial destiny on October 1, 2010, by switching to the Army's General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS), allowing them to track every penny and recover millions in previously undisbursed funds—restoring faith, modernizing operations, and showing the world that even the resting place of heroes can adapt to the digital age.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil

4. Exclusive Slumber Party: The 9/11 Heroes Burial Ground

Step right up and place your bets, for here lies the location of an oh-so-solemn slumber party attended by the most unlikely BFFs: Pentagon employees, NYC firefighters and police, and plane passengers all come together in an eternal snooze-fest! But don't worry, they've all RSVP'd to this exclusive event: Arlington National Cemetery is home to the 9/11 Heroes Burial Ground, a special section where these brave souls rest in peace, having faced the tragic and unforgettable events of September 11th.
Source => americaspace.com

5. Civilians: Endgame - A Graveyard Crossover

In a graveyard twist worthy of a blockbuster crossover, "Civilians: Endgame" surreptitiously unites the likes of JFK, Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, and Thurgood Marshall under the solemn skies of Arlington National Cemetery: one in every hundred of its 400,000 eternal residents is a civilian, totaling 4,000 illustrious non-military trailblazers resting among the hallowed military heroes.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

6. George Washington's Unexpected Cemetery

When George Washington went to the barber and asked for "a little off the top," he probably didn't expect a whole cemetery! Fact attack: Arlington National Cemetery was originally the property of George Washington Parke Custis, who envisioned a living memorial to George Washington, but it ultimately became a strategic location for rifled artillery during the Civil War and is now the final resting place of over 3,800 freed African Americans in a section that was once part of the Freedman's Village.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil

7. Mother Nature's Tree-Toppling Afterlife Party

When Mother Nature decided to hit Arlington National Cemetery with a wild, tree-toppling party in 2012, she proved that not even the resting places of the departed can avoid their fair share of stormy surprises: The ferocious June storm claimed 11 trees, including three ancient giants dating back 225 to 240 years, inflicting damage on a small number of headstones and triggering a swift clean-up and replacement effort by cemetery crews.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil

8. Beats of Washington: Arlington Cemetery's Origin Story

Before the sound of Taps, there were the beats of Washington's heart: Arlington National Cemetery, initially commandeered by the U.S. Army during the Civil War, has ties to none other than George Washington through his adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, who established the estate as a homage to the first U.S. president; the cemetery was then repurposed in 1864 to provide a final resting place for service members who could not be transported home for burial.
Source => arlingtoncemetery.mil