Don't intend for this to be political, which is why it's on History, not Politics Board.

So RBG is being buried at Arlington. I understand her husband is already interred in their plot. It made me wonder about how many SCOTUS are buried there, and if others who were not veterans were there.

Short answer is that Ginsburg will be the 13th Justice buried there. The 10th to be buried in Section 5, near JFK's grave. (Even in death, Dems pack the Court...okay, maybe one political joke)

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/supremec.htm

Of the 13 (including RBG) 5 are not veterans, though Ginsburg is unique in being the spouse of a veteran. Her husband was a reservist who served briefly at Fort Sill.

Of the 8 that are considered veterans, William O. Douglas is an 'interesting' case. He claimed veteran status, despite only serving briefly (10 weeks) as a private in the Students' Army Training Corps (SATC) toward the end of WWI. I'd never heard of this group, they weren't ROTC. If anything, it appears to have been a more intense type of ROTC, with students living in barracks and taking more intense military training.


Personally, I don't think a government official with no military experience belongs at Arlington. But the ever-changing rules seem to allow it.


Trivia: Only two U.S. Presidents are buried at Arlington. One is obvious, JFK. Do you know the other?

Hint: related to this discussion

Taft?

Yep. Only POTUS to later serve on SCOTUS.

What regulations determine who can or can't be buried at Arlington?

Smokedraw01 said:

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What regulations determine who can or can't be buried at Arlington?

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There have been several revisions over the years, and it's hard for me to find the exact ones. The official site only talks about service members and their qualifications.

I found a Bill from 1988 or so, that seemed to eliminate most government officials with no service, except Presidents, but it either didn't pass, or there were exceptions in the amendments.

In any case, it seems SCOTUS are currently on the list to get in.

https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Portals/0/Docs/Eligibilty-Fact-Sheet-20170701.pdf

Arlington

74OA said:

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Arlington

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Quote:

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Persons who have held any of the following positions provided their last period of active duty (other than for training) as a member of the Armed Forces terminated honorably:
[ol]

An elective office of the United States Government.

Office of the Chief Justice of the United States or an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

[/ol]

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Sounds like, under current rules, any SCOTUS is eligible, if they are a dishonorably discharged veteran.

RBG is not.

But, it appears the government ignores this rule, unless they are allowing because her husband served.

Blackmun is the last non-veteran SCOTUS buried, in 1999.

Going back to Taft and some of the others, rules were much looser then.

CanyonAg77 said:

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74OA said:

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Arlington

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Quote:

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Persons who have held any of the following positions provided their last period of active duty (other than for training) as a member of the Armed Forces terminated honorably:
[ol]

An elective office of the United States Government.

Office of the Chief Justice of the United States or an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

[/ol]

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Sounds like, under current rules, any SCOTUS is eligible, if they are a dishonorably discharged veteran.

RBG is not.

But, it appears the government ignores this rule, unless they are allowing because her husband served.

Blackmun is the last non-veteran SCOTUS buried, in 1999.

Going back to Taft and some of the others, rules were much looser then.

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That's how I read it too, at first. Then I decided it means they are eligible for Arlington so long as any period of military service ended honorably, not that they must have served.

Otherwise creating that list would be unnecessary as those people would already be eligible as a result of their service. ??????????

Not every service member is eligible for Arlington. Not enough room.

We're talking about the exceptions list, not every service member. To me, the applicable eligibility section reads that SCOTUS judges need not have served to be interred at Arlington, but if they did, their service must have ended honorably.

You may be correct. Not being a lawyer, I don't dig deep on these things. The two statement together seem like "and", and you read them as "or". I can't argue with either

Yes, that section is certainly written poorly.

What service member is eligible assuming honorable discharge?

Texarkanaag69 said:

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What service member is eligible assuming honorable discharge?

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On 74OA link. For burial, I've tried to copy them below. For interment of ashes, the standards are looser.

Eligibility for Interment (Ground Burial of Casketed or Cremated Remains)
The persons specified below are eligible for ground burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The last period of active duty of former members of the Armed Forces must have ended honorably. Interment may be casketed or cremated remains.

• Any active duty member of the Armed Forces (except those members serving on active duty for training only).
• Any Veteran who is retired from active military service with the Armed Forces. This includes any Veteran who is retired from the Reserves is eligible upon reaching age 60 and drawing retired pay; and who served a period of active duty (other than for training). If, at the time of death, a retired member of the Armed Forces is not entitled to receive retired pay stemming from their service in the Armed Forces until some future date (gray area retiree), the retired member will not be eligible for ground burial. However, most Veterans, who have at least one day of active service for other than training and an Honorable Discharge, are eligible for above-ground inurnment.
• Any former member of the Armed Forces separated honorably prior to October 1, 1949 who has served on active duty (other than for training) and who would have been eligible for retirement under the provisions of 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1201 had that statute been in effect on the date of their separation.
• Any former member of the Armed Forces who has been awarded one of the following decorations:
  
  • Medal of Honor
  • Distinguished Service Cross
  • Navy Cross
  • Air Force Cross
  • Distinguished Service Medal
  • Silver Star
  • Purple Heart
• Persons who have held any of the following positions provided their last period of active duty (other than for training) as a member of the Armed Forces terminated honorably:
  [ol]
  
• An elective office of the United States Government.
• Office of the Chief Justice of the United States or an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
• An office listed in 5 U.S.C. 5312 or 5 U.S.C. 5313.
• The Chief of a mission who was at any time during their tenure classified in class I under the provisions of Section 411 of the Act of 13 August 1946, 60 Stat. 1002, as amended (22 U.S.C. 866, 1964 ed.).
[/ol]

• Any former Prisoner of War (POW) who, while a Prisoner of War, served honorably in the active military, naval, or air service, whose last period of military, naval or air service terminated honorably and who died on or after November 30, 1993.
• The Spouse, Surviving Spouse, minor Child(ren), or permanently dependent Child(ren), and certain unmarried adult Children of any of the above eligible Veterans.
• Surviving Spouses of Soldiers who are interred in Arlington National Cemetery as part of a group burial may be interred/inurned in the cemetery, but not in the same gravesite as the group burial.
• The surviving Spouse, minor Child(ren), or permanently dependent Child(ren) of any person already buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
• The parents of a minor Child(ren), or permanently dependent Child(ren) whose remains, based on the eligibility of a parent, are already buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A Spouse divorced from the primary eligible, or Widowed and remarried, is not eligible for interment.

Canyon77, thanks. My older son who is a SF officer (on 06 promotion list), has told us that he wants to be buried at Arlington along with his wife. I guess most parents and children have that conversation at some point. My dad grew up in Kaufman, Tx and there are more than enough plots In the cemetery there for me and my wife but also for both of our boys and their wives. I'd love for them to "join" us in Kaufman but I also respect that decision. I just didn't know how the decision on Arlington worked. Again, thanks for the info.

The rules for internment at Arlington were just updated and were made to be more restrictive.

New eligibility rules for Arlington cemetery would exclude most non-combat veterans

Quote:

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In addition to them, below-ground burials would be restricted to these other military groups:
Troops killed in action, to include repatriated remains

Purple Heart recipients
Award recipients of the Silver Star or a higher honor
Combat-related service deaths "while conducting uniquely military activities"
Former prisoners of war
Veterans with combat service who "made significant contributions to the nation's security" in other government posts
Former presidents and vice presidents of the United States

Spouses of eligible individuals would also be allowed burial at their loved-ones plots.
Above-ground inurments of ashes will be open to any veterans from World War II, military retirees, veterans who served in combat and spent at least two years in the ranks, and veterans without any combat service who "made significant contributions to the nation's security" in other government posts.
Currently, any military retiree is eligible for below-ground burial at the site, and any veteran who left the service under honorable conditions is eligible for inurment of ashes. The former group would only be eligible for inurment now, while many of the later would not be eligible for any admission to Arlington.

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Quote:

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Not too far from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is section 16. It holds the remains of 482 confederate soldiers and the Confederate Memorial.

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https://www.arlingtontours.com/civil-war-confederate-soldiers-arlington

Something I did not know

My question is how Martin Ginsberg is buried there????? He died in 2010.

Fun fact. They bury the second on top of the previous occupant.

"If the previous interment was without a graveliner or vault and the subsequent interment is on top of the previous interment, the government will not provide a graveliner."

"This particular grave is an "open-up": A recently deceased 98-year-old rear admiral will be reunited with his wife, who was laid to rest on this spot, nine feet (three meters) down, in 1991. His coffin will go atop hers, at seven feet (two meters).

she was already eligible so even though he died first, she must have decided that she also wanted to go to Arlington so he could go ahead and be buried there first.

Many spouses of already qualified are buried first. They make a headstone that says spouse of.......
then when the qualified goes in they do a new headstone with the veteran on the front and the spouse's name on the back. at least for the headstones. the urn markers are different and both names are on the front.....