GENERAL INFORMATION

Military Funeral Honors
In addition to the military funeral honors provided by the Department of Defense several local Veterans Service Organization units and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves may be able to provide military funeral honors. Contact the cemetery office for further information.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Mountain Home National Cemetery is located in the northeastern section of Tennessee in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains within the city limits of Johnson City. The cemetery is on the grounds of the Mountain Home Veterans Administration Center.

Originally known as the Mountain Home Branch of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteered Soldiers, the facility was the product of sustained efforts by Tennessee Congressman Walter Preston Brownlow. In 1901 Congress approved a bill introduced by Brownlow to establish a national home in the Johnson City area. A designated board of managers chose a 450-acre site and commissioned New York architect J. H.

Freedlander to design 36 French Renaissance-style buildings. The home opened Oct. 15, 1903. Five years later, special dispensation was granted to permit the interment of Congressman Brownlow in the Mountain Home cemetery. He and his wife occupy the only graves inside Monument Circle.

The Mountain Home Branch of the National Homes was the ninth, and last, of its kind funded by Congress to care for Union veterans of the Civil War. In 1973, it was transferred to the Veterans Administration and the home cemetery became a national cemetery.

Monuments and Memorials
This cemetery contains no monuments or memorials.
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NOTABLE BURIALS

Medal of Honor Recipients
Sergeant Henry G. Buhrman, (Civil War) Company H, 54th Ohio Infantry. Vicksburg, Miss., on May 22, 1863 (Section C, Row 2, Grave 12).

Lieutenant Frederick Clarence Buck, (Civil War) US Army, Company A, 21st Connecticut Infantry. Chapins Farm, Va., on Sept. 29, 1864 (Section F, Row 1, Grave 9).

Staff Sergeant Junior James Spurrier, (World War II) U.S. Army, Company G, 134th Infantry Division. Achain, France on Nov. 13, 1944 (Section HH, Row 15, Grave 8).
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS

Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.

Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.

Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20.

Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.

Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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