Notable Visitors

As part of the complex mission at Arlington National Cemetery, over 3,000 wreath-layings are conducted yearly - mostly at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and various other sites across the cemetery. These include visits from POTUS, foreign heads of state, and notable military veterans.

(All imagery on this page is in the public domain and taken while Elizabeth Fraser worked as a contractor at Arlington National Cemetery.)

President Joe Biden visits Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, April 14, 2021. While there, Biden laid a wreath to honor fallen service members, veterans and their family members.

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence talk with Christian Jacobs, 6, at the grave of Christian’s father in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, May 29, 2017. Christian visits Section 60 with his mother, Brittany, every year for Memorial Day.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (left) looks at Robert F. Kennedy’s great-grandson (sitting on the lap of his mother, Maeve Kennedy McKinnon) at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, June 6, 2018. All were in attendance of a ceremony celebrating the life of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination at Kennedy's gravesite. Events continued afterwards at the Memorial Amphitheater and was open to the public. In attendance were former President Bill Clinton, Ethel Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, among others.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, lay roses on the gravesites of former President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis in Section 45 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, April 24, 2018. President Macron’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery was part of the first official State Visit from France since President Francois Hollande came to Washington in 2014. President Macron also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as part of his visit.

Vincent Goesahead Jr., of the Crow Nation, performs a smudge pot during the opening ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial Commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Nov. 9, 2021.

U.S. Army Col. Michael Binetti, chief of staff, Arlington National Cemetery directs President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy through Section 70 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., September 1, 2021.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris participate in a Presidential Armed Forces Full Honors Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, January 20, 2020. Biden and Harris visited ANC after Biden was sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol earlier that morning. In attendance were First Lady Dr. Jill T. Biden and Second Gentlemen Douglas Emhoff, as well as former Presidents Barack H. Obama, George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and former First Ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The ceremony was hosted by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Omar Jones IV, commanding general, Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region/U.S. Army Military District of Washington.


British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (right) and Col. Jerry Farnsworth (left), chief of staff, Arlington National Cemetery, watches the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 1, 2018. This was Williamson’s first visit to ANC, where he met with ANC Senior Leadership and toured the Memorial Amphitheater Display Room.

Col. Jason Garkey, regimental commander, The 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard),​ and USS Arizona Survivors walk across the plaza in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, July 21, 2017. The survivors participated in an Armed Forces Wreath Laying Ceremony in recognition of the attack on the naval battleship, USS Arizona, and the 1,777 crewmen who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

(From left to right) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie; Vice President Michael R. Pence; President Donald J. Trump; and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Omar Jones IV, commanding general, U.S. Army Military District of Washington participate in a Presidential Armed Forces Full Honor Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, November 11, 2020. The wreath was laid by President Trump as part of the nation's 67th Veterans Day Observance.

Medal of Honor Recipient U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 4 Hershel Williams visits Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate National Medal of Honor Day, Arlington, Virginia, March 25, 2019. Over 30 Medal of Honor Recipients were in attendance. Medal of Honor recipients U.S. Navy Lt. Tommy Norris and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as part of the commemoration.

President of the Republic of Ecuador Lenin Moreno Garces (wheelchair) speaks with U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Omar Jones IV (second to right), commanding general, U.S. Army Military District of Washington; on the west steps of the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 12, 2020. Earlier, Moreno participated in an Armed Forces Wreath-Laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Jack Eaton (center left), the oldest living Tomb Sentinel, and U.S. Army Capt. Harold Earls (center right), commander of the guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, watch the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 23, 2019.

Former President Bill Clinton visits with members of the Kennedy Family during a ceremony celebrating the life of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination, in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, June 6, 2018. The ceremony was open to the public and attended by Ethel Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, among others.

President of Finland Sauli Niinistö (left); Karen Durham-Aguilera (center), executive director, Arlington National Cemetery and Army National Military Cemeteries; and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Omar Jones IV (right), commanding general, U.S. Army Military District of Washington; speak in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 1, 2019. Earlier, Niinistö participated in an Armed Forces Full Honors Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Vice President Mike Pence places a flag at the gravesite of U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, son of Chief of Staff John Kelly, in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, May 24, 2018.

The President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro (left) walks through the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, March 19, 2019. While at ANC, Bolsonaro participated in an Armed Forces Full Honors Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and toured the Memorial Amphitheater Display Room.

Scott Morrison, prime minister, Commonwealth of Australia, and his wife, Jenny Morrison, lay a wreath at the Pentagon Group Burial Marker in Section 64 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Sept. 21, 2019.

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