The burial waiver dispute became an issue again in 2001 . Charles Burlingame , a 25-year retired Navy veteran , was captain of American Airlines Flight 77 when it hijacked on September 11 , 2001 , and crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks . Burlingame was initially ruled ineligible to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery because , as a reservist , he had not reached the age of 60 at the time of his death . The decision caused an uproar . Veterans offered to give up their burial sites to allow him to be buried at Arlington , legislation was introduced in Congress to force the cemetery to bury him , and Senator John W. Warner and others pushed Metzler to consider new evidence that indicated Burlingame was fighting the hijackers at the time of his death . Metzler subsequently granted the waiver , and Burlingame was buried at Arlington on December 12 , 2001 . Metzler strongly criticized the proposed legislation , arguing that it would permit more than 188,000 reservists and their relatives to be buried at Arlington
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
John C. Metzler Jr.