ARIZONA

The Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery at Camp Navajo is a state-run veterans cemetery located near Bellemont, just west of Flagstaff in northern Arizona. It sits within Camp Navajo, an active Arizona National Guard installation that dates back to World War II, giving the site a strong military setting and historical backdrop. The cemetery opened in 2016 and is operated by the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services as part of the state’s system of veterans cemeteries.

Its purpose is to provide dignified burial services for eligible U.S. veterans, active-duty service members, certain National Guard and Reserve members, and their qualified family members. Services typically include burial plots or cremation niches, headstones or markers, and ongoing maintenance of the grounds at no cost for those who qualify.

While still relatively new and not widely known for famous public figures, the cemetery has one especially significant burial: Alfred Peaches, a Navajo Code Talker from World War II, was the first interment in 2016. The Navajo Code Talkers played a crucial role in the Pacific Theater by using their language to create an unbreakable military code.

Most other individuals buried there are veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and more recent conflicts, along with eligible family members. The cemetery’s location within Camp Navajo connects it to a long-standing military installation that evolved from a WWII-era depot into a modern training site.

Overall, the cemetery is a quiet and respectful resting place that reflects Arizona’s commitment to honoring military service, with its most notable historical connection coming through the legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers.