Camp Nelson National Cemetery - Staff

Staff

Camp Nelson National Cemetery is overseen by one cemetery director. The director and one administrative assistant work in the office, communicating with families and funeral homes to schedule funeral services and burials, coordinate with various agencies for the annual ceremonies, maintain records, and to answer questions or address concerns made by the general public. The staff includes six full-time cemetery caretakers, though the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hires temporary workers almost every summer to augment the staff by about fifty percent. These caretakers prepare graves with a backhoe or hand held tools (pick and shovel), take custody of and transport a casket to its grave, lower the casket into the grave, seal it within a burial vault, and fill in the grave. Caretakers also receive delivered headstones, set and align them at the head of the appropriate graves, and maintain the grounds; duties include cutting the grass, pruning trees, clearing the roads of leaves in the autumn and snow in the winter, preparing the funeral shelter for services, disposing of litter, and interacting with the public to answer questions or find graves.