§ 553.33 - Visitors rules for Army National Military Cemeteries.

§ 553.33 Visitors rules for Army National Military Cemeteries.

(a) Visiting hours. Visiting hours shall be established by the Executive Director and posted in conspicuous places. No visitor is permitted to enter or remain in an Army National Military Cemetery outside the established visiting hours.

(b) Destruction or removal of property. No person shall destroy, damage, mutilate, alter, or remove any monument, gravestone, niche cover, structure, tree, shrub, plant, or other property located within an Army National Military Cemetery.

(c) Conduct within Army National Military Cemeteries. Army National Military Cemeteries are a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and certain acts and activities, which may be appropriate elsewhere, are not appropriate in Army National Military Cemeteries. All visitors, including persons attending or taking part in memorial services and ceremonies, shall observe proper standards of decorum and decency while in an Army National Military Cemetery. Specifically, no person shall:

(1) Conduct any memorial service or ceremony within an Army National Military Cemetery without the prior approval of the Executive Director.

(2) Engage in demonstrations prohibited by 38 U.S.C. 2413.

(3) Engage in any orations, speeches, or similar conduct to assembled groups of people, unless such actions are part of a memorial service or ceremony authorized by the Executive Director.

(4) Display any placards, banners, flags, or similar devices within an Army National Military Cemetery, unless first approved by the Executive Director for use in an authorized memorial service or ceremony. This rule does not apply to clothing worn by visitors.

(5) Distribute any handbill, pamphlet, leaflet, or other written or printed matter within an Army National Military Cemetery, except a program approved by the Executive Director to be provided to attendees of an authorized memorial service or ceremony.

(6) Bring a dog, cat, or other animal (other than a service animal or military working dog) within an Army National Military Cemetery. This prohibition does not apply to persons living in quarters located on the grounds of the Army National Military Cemeteries.

(7) Use the cemetery grounds for recreational activities (e.g., physical exercise, running, jogging, sports, or picnics).

(8) Ride a bicycle or similar conveyance in an Army National Military Cemetery, except with a proper pass issued by the Executive Director to visit a gravesite or niche. An individual visiting a relative's gravesite or niche may be issued a temporary pass by the Executive Director to proceed directly to and from the gravesite or niche on a bicycle or similar vehicle or conveyance.

(9) Operate a musical instrument, a loudspeaker, or an audio device without a headset within an Army National Military Cemetery.

(10) Drive any motor vehicle within an Army National Military Cemetery in excess of the posted speed limit.

(11) Park any motor vehicle in any area of an Army National Military Cemetery designated as a no-parking area.

(12) Leave any vehicle in the Arlington National Cemetery Visitors' Center parking area or Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery visitors' parking area more than thirty minutes outside of established visiting hours or anywhere else in an Army National Military Cemetery outside of established visiting hours.

(13) Consume or serve alcoholic beverages without prior written permission from the Executive Director.

(14) Possess firearms without prior written permission from the Executive Director. This prohibition does not apply to law enforcement and military personnel in the performance of their official duties. In accordance with locally established policy, military and law enforcement personnel may be required to obtain advance permission from the Executive Director of the Army National Military Cemeteries prior to possessing firearms on the property of an Army National Military Cemetery.

(15) Deposit or throw litter or trash on the grounds of the Army National Military Cemeteries.

(16) Engage in any disrespectful or disorderly conduct within an Army National Military Cemetery.

(d) Vehicular traffic. All visitors, including persons attending or taking part in memorial services and ceremonies, will observe the following rules concerning motor vehicle traffic within Arlington National Cemetery:

(1) Visitors arriving by car and not entitled to a vehicle pass pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this section are required to park their vehicles in the Visitors' Center parking area or at a location outside of the cemetery.

(2) Only the following categories of vehicles may be permitted access to Arlington National Cemetery roadways and issued a permanent or temporary pass from the Executive Director:

(i) Official Government vehicles being used on official Government business.

(ii) Vehicles carrying persons on official Cemetery business.

(iii) Vehicles forming part of an authorized funeral procession and authorized to be part of that procession.

(iv) Vehicles carrying persons visiting the Arlington National Cemetery gravesites, niches, or memorial areas of relatives or loved ones interred, inurned, or memorialized within Arlington National Cemetery.

(v) Arlington National Cemetery and National Park Service maintenance vehicles.

(vi) Vehicles of contractors who are authorized to perform work within Arlington National Cemetery.

(vii) Concessionaire tour buses authorized by the Executive Director to operate in Arlington National Cemetery.

(viii) Vehicles of employees of ANMC as authorized by the Executive Director.