The Only Grave at Arlington Not Under Army Control
In a cemetery of more than 400,000 graves, every headstone looks the same — white marble, lined in perfect formation, under the quiet command of the U.S. Army.
Except one.
In Section 31, Grave 472, lies Specialist Richard McKinley, a 27-year-old soldier killed in 1961 during America’s first nuclear reactor accident — the SL-1 explosion in Idaho.
His headstone looks no different from those around it, but what rests beneath breaks every rule at Arlington. McKinley’s body was so radioactive it had to be sealed inside a lead-lined casket, encased in concrete, and buried ten feet deep. Another layer of concrete was poured on top.
Because of that contamination, his grave doesn’t fall under the Army’s authority.
It remains under the jurisdiction of the Atomic Energy Commission — making it the only grave at Arlington National Cemetery not controlled by the U.S. Army.
Burial records still carry a chilling note:
“Victim of nuclear accident. Body is contaminated with long-life radioactive isotopes. Under no circumstance will the body be removed without prior approval of the AEC.”
A headstone like all the others — but beneath it lies a sealed reminder that not all sacrifices in service happen on the battlefield.
Some are buried deeper, behind concrete and caution signs, where science met duty and history refused to look away.