Editing Arlington National Cemetery (section)

====Wreaths Across America====
{{main|Wreaths Across America}}
[[File:Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|alt=Thousands of balsam fir Christmas wreaths with red ribbons propped against headstones in a snowy Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in the U.S.|Wreaths donated in 2005 by Worcester Wreath Company in [[Harrington, Maine]], as part of [[Wreaths Across America]]]]
In 1992, the Worcester Wreath company in [[Harrington, Maine]], had a surplus at the end of the Christmas holiday season. Recalling a boyhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, company founder Morrill Worcester donated 5,000 wreaths to the cemetery to honor the cemetery's dead with the help of volunteers and a local trucking company.<ref>{{cite web|first=Robert |last=Golomb |title=Wreaths Across America: Remembering, Honoring And Teaching About Our Nation's Military Heroes |url=https://www.publishedreporter.com/2021/07/29/wreaths-across-america-remembering-honoring-and-teaching-about-our-nations-military-heroes/|work=The Published Reporter|date=July 29, 2021}}</ref> In 2005, after 13 years of similar donations, a photo of snowy gravestones covered with wreaths at the cemetery received widespread circulation on the internet. Thousands of people called Worcester Wreath Company, wanting to replicate the wreath-laying service at their own veteran cemeteries.<ref name="Wreaths">{{cite web|title=Our Story |url=http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/our-story/|access-date=September 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929190951/http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/our-story/|archive-date=September 29, 2016|publisher=Wreaths Across America|location=[[Columbia Falls, Maine]]}}</ref> In 2014, volunteers were able to place wreaths in all sections of the cemetery for the first time.<ref name=Wreaths/>

On 22 February 1995, officials of the [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of Interior]] and the [[United States Department of the Army|U.S. Department of the Army]] signed an agreement to transfer from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, to the U.S. Army a part of Arlington Woods, which was located in Section 29 of the [[National Park Service]] at Arlington National Cemetery between Arlington House and [[Fort Myer]].<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://public.mapper.army.mil/ANC/ANCWeb/PublicWMV/ancWeb.html |title=Interactive map of Arlington National Cemetery showing Section 29 and Future Expansion Site |publisher=Arlington National Cemetery |access-date=December 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418081700/http://public.mapper.army.mil/ANC/ANCWeb/PublicWMV/ancWeb.html |archive-date=April 18, 2015 }}<br /> (2) Coordinates of Section 29: {{coord|38.8820646|-77.0770195|format=dms|type:landmark|name=Section 29}}</ref> The property transfer, which involved {{convert|12|acre}} of NPS land, was intended to permit Metzler to start expanding the cemetery beyond its existing boundaries.<ref name="Wee" />{{sfn|Hanna|2001|p=169}}

In September 1996, Arlington Cemetery received the authority to transfer {{convert|12|acre|ha}} of woodland from the [[National Park Service]]-controlled [[Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial|Arlington House]]<ref name=law>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ201/pdf/PLAW-104publ201.pdf|work=Public Law 104-201: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997|date=September 23, 1996|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|title=Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997: Title XXVIII – General Provisions: Subtitle C{{snd}}Land Conveyances: Section 2821(a). Transfer of lands, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia (110 Stat. 2791–2792)|access-date=December 24, 2012|quote=(a) Requirement for Secretary of Interior to Transfer Certain Section 29 Lands. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Interior shall transfer to the Secretary of the Army administrative jurisdiction over the following lands located in section 29 of the National Park System at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia: (A) The lands known as the Arlington National Cemetery Interment Zone. (B) All lands in the Robert E. Lee Memorial Preservation Zone, other than those lands in the Preservation Zone that the Secretary of the Interior determines must be retained because of the historical significance of such lands or for the maintenance of nearby lands or facilities.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104183022/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ201/pdf/PLAW-104publ201.pdf|archive-date=November 4, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Wee>{{cite news |last=Wee|first=Eric L.|title=Good News for Tree Lovers, Not for Arlington Cemetery; Park Service Wants to Give 4 Acres, Not 12|newspaper=Metro Section. [[The Washington Post]] |page= B7|date=March 6, 1998 |quote=In 1995, the Park Service agreed to move forward with plans to give the cemetery the 12 acres of woodlands near the Arlington House mansion, where Robert E. Lee lived before the Civil War. Congress approved the transfer on the condition that an archaeological and cultural study be done on the land. Another 12-acre parcel near the house already had been largely ruled out for graves because of its historic value. |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/408351148 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917220555/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/408351148.html |archive-date=September 17, 2016 |id={{ProQuest|408351148}} |url-status=live}}</ref> in 2001,<ref name=Williams>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301004218/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=31562|archive-date=March 1, 2010|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/31562/|publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]|title=Arlington National Cemetery Gains 70 Acres of Land |last=Williams|first=Rudi |agency=[[American Forces Press Service]]|date=May 27, 2005|url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2012}}</ref><ref name=law2>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ107/pdf/PLAW-107publ107.pdf|work=Public Law 107-107: [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2002|date=December 28, 2001|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|title=Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002: Title XXVIII{{snd}}General Provisions: Subtitle E{{snd}}Other Matters: Section 2863(h): Alternate Site for United States Air Force Memorial, Preservation of Open Space on Arlington Ridge Tract, and Related Land Transfer At Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia: Land Transfer, Section 29 (115 Stat. 1332–1333)|access-date=March 16, 2013|quote=SEC. 2863. Alternative Site for United States Air Force Memorial, Preservation of Open Space on Arlington Ridge Tract, and related Land Transfer at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia..... (h) Land Transfer, Section 29. (1) Transfer required. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall transfer, without reimbursement, to the Secretary of the Army administrative jurisdiction over that portion of Section 29 designated as the interment zone and consisting of approximately 12 acres. The Secretary of the Interior shall modify the boundaries of the George Washington Memorial Parkway as may be necessary to reflect the land transfer required by this subsection. (2) Use of transferred land. The Secretary of the Army shall use the transferred property for the development of in-ground burial sites and columbarium that are designed to meet the contours of Section 29. (3) Management of remainder. The Secretary of the Interior shall manage that portion of Section 29 not transferred under this subsection in perpetuity to provide a natural setting and visual buffer for Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial. (4) Repeal of obsolete law. Section 2821(a) of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (division B of Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2791) is repealed.|archive-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217113835/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ107/pdf/PLAW-107publ107.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> {{convert|37|acre|ha}} of land in 1999 from the DoD that was the site of the [[Navy Annex]] building,<ref name="Vogel">{{cite news |last=Vogel |first=Steve |date=8 October 1999 |title=Arlington Cemetery Gains Land to Expand |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/408547919 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730020412/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/408547919.html |archive-date=30 July 2014 |access-date=31 December 2012 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |department=Metro |page=B1|id={{ProQuest|408547919}} }}</ref><ref name=law3>{{cite web |url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ65/pdf/PLAW-106publ65.pdf|title=Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000: Title XXVIII{{snd}}General Provisions: Subtitle F{{snd}}Expansion of Arlington National Cemetery: Sec. 2881. Transfer from Navy Annex, Arlington, Virginia|work=Public Law 106-65: [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2000|pages=113 Stat. 879–113 Stat. 880|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|access-date=July 18, 2017|quote=SEC. 2881. Transfer From Navy Annex, Arlington, Virginia<br />(a) Land Transfer Required. The Secretary of Defense shall provide for the transfer to the Secretary of the Army of administrative jurisdiction over three parcels of real property consisting of approximately 36 acres and known as the Navy Annex (in this section referred to as the "Navy Annex property").<br />(b) Use of Land.&nbsp;Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Army shall incorporate the Navy Annex property transferred under subsection (a) into Arlington National Cemetery.<br />(2) ... (c) Remediation of Land for Cemetery Use.&nbsp;Immediately after the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the Navy Annex property, the Secretary of Defense shall provide for the removal of any improvements on that property and shall prepare the property for use as part of Arlington National Cemetery. ...|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505234824/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ65/pdf/PLAW-106publ65.pdf|archive-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref> {{convert|8|acre|ha}} of land in 1999 from the Department of the Army that was part of [[Fort Myer]],<ref name=Vogel/><ref name=law5>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ65/pdf/PLAW-106publ65.pdf|work=Public Law 106-65: [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2000|date=October 5, 1999|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|title=Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000: Title XVIII{{snd}}General Provisions: Subtitle F{{snd}}Expansion of Arlington National Cemetery: Section 2882. Transfer from Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia (113 Stat. 880)|access-date=March 20, 2013|quote=SEC. 2882. Transfer from Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia. (a) Land Transfer Required.&nbsp;The Secretary of the Army shall modify the boundaries of Arlington National Cemetery and of Fort Myer to include in Arlington National Cemetery the following parcels of real property situated in Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia: (1) A parcel comprising approximately five acres bounded by the Fort Myer Post Traditional Chapel to the southwest, McNair Road to the northwest, the Vehicle Maintenance Complex to the northeast, and the masonry wall of Arlington National Cemetery to the southeast. (2) A parcel comprising approximately three acres bounded by the Vehicle Maintenance Complex to the southwest, Jackson Avenue to the northwest, the water pumping station to the northeast, and the masonry wall of Arlington National Cemetery to the southeast.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102175433/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ65/pdf/PLAW-106publ65.pdf|archive-date=January 2, 2013}}</ref> {{convert|4|acre|ha}} of land from Arlington County's Southgate Road right-of-way in 2004,<ref name=law4>{{cite web|url=http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/olc/docs/PL108-375.pdf|work=Public Law 108-375: Ronald W. Reagan [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2005|date=October 28, 2004|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|title=Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005: Title XXVIII{{snd}}General Provisions: Subtitle D{{snd}}Land Conveyances: Part IV – Other Conveyances: Section 2881. Land Exchange, Arlington County, Virginia (118 Stat. 2153–2154)|access-date=March 20, 2013|quote=Sec. 2881. Land Exchange, Arlington County, Virginia. (a) Exchange Authorized.--The Secretary of Defense may convey to Arlington County, Virginia (in this section referred to as the "County"), all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real property, together with any improvements thereon, that consists of not more than 4.5 acres and is located north of Columbia Pike on the Navy Annex property in Arlington County, Virginia, for the purpose of the construction of a freedmen heritage museum and an Arlington history museum. (b) Consideration.&nbsp;As consideration for the conveyance of the real property under subsection (a), the County shall convey to the United States all right, title, and interest of the County in and to a parcel of real property, together with any improvements thereon, that is of a size equivalent to the total acreage of the real property conveyed by the Secretary under subsection (a) and is located in the area known as the Southgate Road right-of-way between Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, and the Navy Annex property..... (g) Inclusion of Southgate Road Right-of-Way Property in Transfer of Navy Annex Property for Arlington National Cemetery.&nbsp;Subsection (a) of section 2881 of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (division B of Public Law 106-65; 113 Stat. 879) is amended by striking "three parcels of real property consisting of approximately 36 acres" and inserting "four parcels of real property consisting of approximately 40 acres.|archive-date=February 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214223619/http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/olc/docs/PL108-375.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and just under {{convert|10|acre|ha}} of land from Fort Myer in 2005.<ref name=Williams/><ref name="RuaneWarriors">{{cite news|last=Ruane |first=Michael E. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905020332/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/06/AR2007100601090.html |archive-date=September 5, 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/06/AR2007100601090.html |title=For Warriors Past and Future |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=October 7, 2007 |access-date=December 31, 2012 |quote=The Millennium expansion has involved, among other things, the sensitive transfer of 12 acres within the cemetery from the National Park Service's historic Arlington House, the onetime home of Robert E. Lee. The Park Service has lamented the likely loss of woodland and the cemetery's encroachment on the majestic hilltop home, which dates to 1802. The project, which focuses on the northwest edge of the cemetery, includes expansion into about 10 acres taken from the Army's adjacent Fort Myer and four acres of cemetery maintenance property inside the boundaries, officials said. The extra space would provide room for 14,000 ground burials and 22,000 inurnments in a large columbarium complex, officials said. The project comes on the heels of extensive work underway to utilize 40 acres of unused space in the cemetery, creating room for 26,000 more graves and 5,000 inurnments. And there are plans for further outside expansion in the years ahead. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sherman">{{cite news|last=Sherman |first=Jerome L. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801082344/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/more-space-for-fallen-heroes-at-arlington-509186/ |archive-date=August 1, 2013 |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/more-space-for-fallen-heroes-at-arlington-509186/ |title=More space for fallen heroes at Arlington |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=November 4, 2007 |access-date=March 20, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 23 September 1996, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201) authorized the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] to transfer to the [[United States Secretary of the Army|Secretary of the Army]] all of the land in Section 29 that was within an "Arlington National Cemetery [[Burial|Interment]] Zone" and some of the land in the Section that was within a "Robert E. Lee Memorial Preservation Zone".<ref name="law" /><ref name="Wee" />

On 5 March 1998, the National Park Service, a component of the Department of the Interior, informed the [[National Capital Planning Commission]] that it wanted to transfer only {{convert|4|acre}} to the cemetery, rather than the {{convert|12|acre}} that the 1995 agreement had described. In response, Metzler stated: "I was surprised. But we will continue to work with the Department of Interior and see what happens."<ref name="Wee" />

On 12 July 1999, the National Park Service published a ''[[Federal Register]]'' notice, announcing the availability of an environmental assessment for the transfer.{{sfn|Hanna|2001|p=169}}<ref name="assessment1">{{cite journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928121440/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1999-07-12/pdf/99-17523.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1999-07-12/pdf/99-17523.pdf |title=Notice: Environmental Assessment of Proposed Land Transfer, Arlington House – The Robert E. Lee Memorial, George Washington Memorial Parkway to Department of the Army, Arlington National Cemetery |journal=[[Federal Register]] |volume=64 |number=132 |pages=37564–37565 |last=Calhoun |first=Audrey F. |date=July 12, 1999 |publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]] |access-date=December 24, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The EA stated that the Interment Zone contained the oldest and largest tract of [[Climax vegetation|climax]] [[Southeastern mixed forests|eastern hardwood forest]] in Arlington County. This forest was the same type that once covered the Arlington estate, and had regenerated from trees that were present historically. A forestry study determined that a representative tree was 258 years old. The Interment Zone was also determined to contain significant archeological and cultural landscape resources, in addition to those in the Preservation Zone.<ref name="assessment1" /> The EA described four alternative courses of action.<ref name="assessment1" />

In contrast to the National Park Service's March 1998 statement to the National Capital Planning Commission, the 1999 environmental assessment stated that the preferred alternative (Alternative 1) would transfer to the cemetery approximately {{convert|9.6| acre}}, comprising most of the Interment Zone and the northern tip of the Preservation Zone.<ref name="assessment1" /> Another alternative (Alternative 3) would transfer to the cemetery the {{convert|12|acre|ha}} Interment Zone, while keeping the {{convert|12.5|acre|ha}} Preservation Zone under NPS jurisdiction.<ref name="assessment1" /> The EA concluded: "Public Law 104-201 directed the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army jurisdiction over the Interment Zone, which is the plan in Alternative 3. Adoption of any of the other alternatives would require legislative action to amend the existing law."<ref name="assessment1" />

In 1998, a Congressional proposal to expand the cemetery onto land that the Navy Annex and Fort Myer then occupied led to concerns that Arlington County officials had not been properly consulted, leading to the withdrawal of the proposal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vogel|first1=Steve|title=Arlington Cemetery Proposal Put on Hold; Officials Say Plan to Transfer Land From Navy Annex, Fort Myer Needs Review|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/408384852|access-date=July 29, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 11, 1998|page=B3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730013211/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/408384852.html|archive-date=July 30, 2014|id={{ProQuest|408384852}} |quote=A congressional proposal to expand Arlington National Cemetery onto land now occupied by the Navy Annex and Fort Myer has been at least temporarily put on hold, but officials predicted that in the long term, at least some of the property may be turned into grave sites.<br />Members of a House–Senate conference committee said yesterday they have agreed to remove language from a Defense Department appropriations bill that would have transferred the land to the cemetery, which is approaching full capacity.<br />(Bob) Stump's proposal, attached to a bill that cleared the House earlier this summer, would have transferred 36.5 acres from the Navy Annex and eight acres from Fort Myer to Arlington Cemetery. The move would create sufficient burial sites to last until 2040, officials said. The proposal has sparked anxiety in Arlington County, where community leaders complained that they had not been consulted about such a major decision.}}</ref> However, the [[National Defense Authorization Act]] for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65), which was enacted into law during October 1999, subsequently required the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] to transfer administrative jurisdiction of the {{convert|36|acre|ha}} Navy Annex property to the Secretary of the Army. The Act required the Secretary of Defense to demolish the Annex's buildings and prepare the property for use as part of the cemetery, while requiring the Secretary of the Army to incorporate the Annex property into the cemetery.<ref name="law3" />