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Arlington Cemetery Debuts Electronic Grave Database

By: Marti Johnson // October 23, 2012
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After a 2010 report showing hundreds of sets of remains may be mislabeled or misplaced at Arlington National Cemetery, the cemetery's administration undertook an effort to digitize all records pertaining to the burial ground.
Pete Thompson
After a 2010 report showing hundreds of sets of remains may be mislabeled or misplaced at Arlington National Cemetery, the cemetery's administration undertook an effort to digitize all records pertaining to the burial ground.

An electronic database with information about the hundreds of thousands of people buried at Arlington National Cemetery is now open to the public, according to the Associated Press.

Cemetery officials built the database over the last two years after news reports that many of the graves in the historic burial ground were mis-identified, not where they were thought to be or even missing. All records were kept in hard copy prior to 2010.

The new website, which debuted October 22, features an interactive map and also offers a free mobile app allowing visitors to find a loved one's burial place, as well as some of the cemetery's most notable graves.

The database uses geospatial technology and is capable of zeroing in to show specific graves. Users can also search by name. Arlington cemetery hosts more than 4 million visitors every year.

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