§2104 — Title 36 Patriotic and National Observances | U.S. Code

§2104 Military cemeteries in foreign countries

Title 36 › Subtitle Subtitle I— - Patriotic and National Observances and Ceremonies › Part Part B— - United States Government Organizations Involved With Observances and Ceremonies › Chapter CHAPTER 21— - AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION › § 2104

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When combat creates military cemeteries outside the United States, the American Battle Monuments Commission and the Secretary of the Army must decide as soon as fighting stops which cemeteries will be permanent or pick new sites. The Commission is in charge of designing and building the permanent cemeteries and their permanent features like buildings, plantings, and headstones. Four rules apply: the Armed Forces must maintain the cemeteries until the Commission is ready to take over; any construction by the Armed Forces before transfer must be temporary; burials and reburials must follow the Commission’s plans; and the Armed Forces may return to exhume or reinter a body if they need to.

Title 36, §2104

Patriotic and National Observances — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

When, as a result of combat operations, the Armed Forces establish military cemeteries in zones of operations outside the United States and the territories and possessions of the United States, the American Battle Monuments Commission and the Secretary of the Army, immediately on the cessation of hostilities, shall decide which of the cemeteries will become permanent cemeteries or, if they decide it is desirable, shall select new sites for the cemeteries at any other location. The Commission is solely responsible for the design and construction of the permanent cemeteries, and of all buildings, plantings, headstones, and other permanent improvements incidental to the cemeteries, except that—

(1)the Armed Forces are responsible for maintaining the permanent cemeteries until the Commission declares its readiness to assume the authorized administrative duties and powers;

(2)all construction undertaken by the Armed Forces in establishing and maintaining the cemetery prior to its transfer to the Commission shall be nonpermanent;

(3)burials and reburials by the Armed Forces shall be carried out in accordance with plans prepared by the Commission; and

(4)the Armed Forces have the right to re-enter a cemetery transferred to the Commission to exhume or re-inter a body if they decide it is necessary.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 210436:122b.Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 283, § 2, as added July 25, 1956, ch. 721, § 3(a), 70 Stat. 640. In this section, before clause (1), the words “so established, if any” are omitted as unnecessary. In clause (1), the words “such time as” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “duties and powers” are substituted for “functions” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In clause (2), the words “in nature” are omitted as unnecessary.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Restoration, Operation, and Maintenance of Clark Veterans Cemetery Pub. L. 112–260, title I, § 106, Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2421, provided that: “(a) In General.—After an agreement is made between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the United States Government, Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Republic of the Philippines shall be treated, for purposes of section 2104 of title 36, United States Code, as a cemetery for which it was decided under such section that the cemetery will become a permanent cemetery and the American Battle Monuments Commission shall restore, operate, and maintain Clark Veterans Cemetery (to the degree the Commission considers appropriate) under such section in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. “(b) Limitation on Future Burials.—Burials at the cemetery described in subsection (a) after the date of the agreement described in such subsection shall be limited to eligible veterans, as determined by the Commission, whose burial does not incur any cost to the Commission. “(c) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission—“(1) $5,000,000 for site preparation, design, planning,

Construction

, and associated administrative costs for the restoration of the cemetery described in subsection (a); and “(2) amounts necessary to operate and maintain the cemetery described in subsection (a).”