GENERAL INFORMATION

To schedule a burial:  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.

The new 479-acre national cemetery in the Birmingham area will serve veterans' needs for at least the next 50 years. The cemetery is located at 3133 Highway 119, 15 miles south of Birmingham, just north of the town of Montevallo and west of Interstate Highway 65.

In July 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs purchased the site for approximately $8 million and awarded a contract in September 2007 to Civil Consultants, Inc. to design the new cemetery.

Construction of Phase I consists of approximately 45 acres, and includes facilities necessary to maintain, operate, and provide burials for approximately ten years. When this phase of construction is complete the interment areas will provide for 7,395 full-casket gravesites, 999 in-ground cremation sites and approximately 2,700 columbarium niches. The new cemetery will also include an administration and public information center complex with an electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms, a maintenance facility, a cemetery entrance area, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway and two committal shelters for funeral services. Other infrastructure design elements include roadways, landscaping, utilities and irrigation.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Under Development.
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NOTABLE PERSONS

Under Development.
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS

Our cemetery floral regulations exist only to reflect the honor and respect we hold for our Nation's Veterans, by preserving the dignity and solemnity of their final resting place.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed as follows, a maximum of three will be placed on the grave and the remainder will be placed at a central location.

We welcome and encourage fresh-cut flowers throughout the year. Floral containers are located throughout the cemetery for public use and free of charge. Items left at grave side must be floral in nature and may not stand taller than the headstone.

Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves to include hazardous materials, glass, metal, toys, candles, balloons and flags are not permitted.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments which 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. Unauthorized items will be removed immediately. The cemetery does not keep any unauthorized decorations once they have been removed from the grave. Floral items and other decorations may not be secured to the headstone. Flowers will be removed when spent, for mowing and maintenance, or if damaged by weather or wildlife.

No permanent floral vases are permitted. Due to the open nature of the grounds, we cannot guarantee against theft, vandalism or the effects of nature.

Artificial flowers will be permitted during the period from October 1 through April 1.

Plantings will not be permitted on graves at any time. Potted plants will be permitted on graves during period 10 days before and 10 days after Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Christmas.

Christmas wreaths or grave blankets are permitted on graves from December 15 through January 10 and will be removed not later than January 20 of each year. Grave floral blankets may not be longer than two by three feet.

In order to preserve the dignity and honor of our Veteran's final resting place, please observe the following rules of behavior while visiting the cemetery grounds:

• Pets are not allowed on the cemetery grounds at any time.
• No soliciting.
• Sports or recreational activities of any kind are prohibited.
• No picnicking.
• Public gatherings of a partisan nature are prohibited, no unauthorized gatherings are permitted. Committal shelters are for services only, no loitering.
• Littering is not allowed, please use one of the many receptacles provided.
• Smoking is not allowed on the grounds, in any building or the committal shelter. Please smoke only at the designated receptacles.
• No cutting, digging or otherwise damaging the landscape.
• Boisterous activity, including the playing of loud music, is prohibited.

Altering a headstone in any manner is prohibited. (i.e., marking, sitting on, placing objects upon, attaching photographs or keepsakes to, etc.)

These rules are covered by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (38-1.218) and are subject to fines.
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