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Burial
Benefits
Eligibility |
Burial in National Cemeteries |
Headstones and Markers |
Presidential Memorial Certificates
Burial Flags |
Reimbursement of Burial Expenses |
Military Funeral Honors
Veterans' Cemeteries Administered by Other Agencies
Eligibility
Servicemembers
who die while on active duty and veterans discharged under conditions
other than dishonorable may be eligible for the following VA burial
benefits: (1) burial in a VA national cemetery; (2) government-furnished
headstone or marker; (3) Presidential Memorial Certificate; (4)
burial flag; and in some cases, (5) reimbursement of burial expenses.
With certain exceptions, service beginning after Sept. 7, 1980,
as an enlisted person, and after Oct. 16, 1981, as an officer,
must be for a minimum of 24 consecutive months or the full period
for which the person was called to active duty to establish burial
benefits eligibility. Reservists and National Guard members are
eligible if they were entitled to retired pay at the time of death,
or would have been entitled had they not been under the age of
60.
Certain
Filipino veterans of World War 11, to include those who served
in the Philippine Commonwealth Army (USAFFE) or recognized guerilla
forces, may be eligible if the veteran, at the time of death,
was a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States who had resided in
the United States.
Persons
convicted of a federal or state capital crime, and sentenced to
death or life imprisonment without parole, are barred from receiving
VA burial benefits.
Burial
in National Cemeteries
VA provides veterans and dependents a variety of gravesite options for burial, though choices are limited to those available at a specific cemetery. These may include a full casket burial, or columbarium or in-ground niche for cremated remains. A limited number of national cemeteries also provide a scatter garden for dispersing cremated remains.
Gravesites in national
cemeteries cannot be reserved, however VA will honor reservations
made under previous programs. The funeral director or the next
of kin makes interment arrangements for an eligible veteran or
dependent at the time of need by contacting the national cemetery
in which burial is desired. VA normally does not conduct burials
on weekends. However, weekend callers will be directed to a national
cemetery that can schedule burials for the following week. See
the VA Facilities section of this book to locate a national cemetery.
Spouses and minor children
of servicemembers and eligible veterans also may be buried in
a national cemetery. If a surviving spouse of an eligible veteran
remarries, and that marriage is terminated by death or dissolved
by annulment or divorce, the surviving spouse is eligible for
burial in a national cemetery. Burial of minor children of eligible
persons is limited to unmarried children under 21 years of age,
or under 23 years of age if pursuing a full-time course of instruction
at an approved educational institution. Eligible veterans' unmarried
adult children who became physically or mentally disabled and
incapable of self-support before reaching the age of 21, or 23
if a full-time student, also are eligible for burial.
Headstones
and Markers
Flat bronze, granite or marble markers and upright granite and marble headstones are available. In the case of national cemeteries, the style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers also are available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains. Government-furnished headstones and markers must be inscribed with the name of the deceased, branch of service, and the year of birth and death, in this order. Headstones and markers also may be inscribed with other items, including an authorized emblem of belief and, space permitting, additional text including military grade, rate or rank, war service (such as "World War II"), complete dates of birth and death, military awards, military organizations and civilian or veteran affiliations. When burial or memorialization is in a national, state or military veterans cemetery, the headstone or marker must be ordered through cemetery officials. To apply and to obtain specific information on available styles, contact the cemetery where the headstone or marker is to be placed.
When burial occurs in
a private cemetery, an application for a government-furnished
headstone or marker must be made to VA. The government will ship
the headstone or marker free of charge, but will not pay for its
placement. Headstones and markers previously provided by the government
may be replaced at government expense if badly deteriorated, illegible,
stolen or vandalized. Eligible servicemembers and veterans buried
in private cemeteries, whose deaths occurred on or after Sept.
11, 2001, may receive a government-furnished headstone or marker
regardless of whether the grave is already marked with a non-government
marker.
To apply, mail a completed
VA Form 40-1330,
Application for Standard Government Headstone or Marker for Installation
in a Private or State Veterans Cemetery, along with a copy of
the veteran's military service discharge document to Memorial
Programs Service (402E), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20420-0001. Or fax documents to 1-800-455-7143.
Do not send original discharge documents, as they will not be
returned. For information and application instructions, visit
(http://www.cem.va.gov).
VA
also provides memorial headstones and markers, bearing the inscription
"In Memory of as their first line, to memorialize eligible
veterans whose remains were not recovered or identified, were
buried at sea, donated to science or cremated and scattered. Eligible
dependents may be memorialized only in national or state veterans
cemeteries. To be memorialized, dependents do not need to outlive
the veteran from whom their eligibility is based. Memorial headstones
or markers must be placed in national, state veterans, local or
private cemeteries. VA supplies and ships memorial headstones
and markers free of charge for placement in state, local and private
cemeteries, but does not pay for their plots or placement.
Presidential
Memorial Certificates
Certificates signed
by the president are issued upon request to recognize the military
service of honorably discharged deceased veterans. Next of kin,
other relatives and friends may request Presidential Memorial
Certificates in person at any VA regional office or by mail: Presidential
Memorial Certificates (402E), National Cemetery Administration,
810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420-0001. There is no
pre-printed form to complete or time limit for requesting these
certificates, but requests should include a copy, not the original,
of the deceased veteran's discharge document and clearly indicate
to what address the certificate should be sent. Additional information
and a sample certificate can be found on the Internet (http://www.cem.va.gov/pmc.htm).
Burial
Flags
VA will furnish a United
States burial flag for memorialization of:
- veterans who served during wartime,
or served after Jan. 31, 1955; or
- veterans who were entitled to
retired pay for service in the reserves, or would have been
entitled to such pay but not for being under 60 years of age;
or
- members or former members of the
Selected Reserve who served at least one enlistment or, in the
case of an officer, the period of initial obligation, or were
discharged for disability incurred or aggravated in line of
duty, or died while a member of the Selected Reserve.
Reimbursement of Burial Expenses
VA will pay a burial allowance up
to $2,000 if the veteran's death is service-connected. In some
instances, VA also will pay the cost of transporting the remains
of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest
the home of the deceased that has available gravesites. In such
cases, the person who bore the veteran's burial expenses may claim
reimbursement from VA. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement
claims in service-connected death cases.
VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral
expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death, were entitled
to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled
to compensation but for receipt of military retirement pay. Eligibility
also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, a
nursing home under VA contract or a state veterans nursing home.
Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be paid.
In nonservice-connected death cases, claims must be filed within
two years after permanent burial or cremation.
VA will pay a $300 plot allowance
when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S.
government jurisdiction under the following circumstances: the
veteran was discharged from active duty because of disability
incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; the veteran was in
receipt of compensation or pension or would have been except for
receiving military retired pay; or the veteran died in a VA facility.
The $300 plot allowance may be paid
to the state if a veteran is buried without charge for the cost
of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely
for veteran burials. Burial expenses paid by the deceased's employer
or a state agency will not be reimbursed. For information on monetary
benefits, call 1-800-827-1000. Additional
information about burial and memorial benefits may be obtained
at any VA national cemetery, regional office or on the Internet
(http://www.cem.va.gov).
To check on the status of an application for headstone or marker,
call 1-800-697-6947.
Military
Funeral Honors
Upon request, the DoD
will provide military funeral honors for the burial of military
members and eligible veterans. Basic military funeral honors ceremony
consists of the folding and presentation of the United States
flag and the playing of Taps by a bugler, if available, or by
electronic recording. A funeral honors detail to perform this
ceremony consists of two or more uniformed members of the armed
forces, with at least one member from the service in which the
deceased veteran served.
Military members on
active duty or in the Selected Reserve are eligible for military
funeral honors. Also eligible are former military members who
served on active duty and departed under conditions other than
dishonorable, former members of the Selected Reserve who completed
at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated
service and departed under conditions other than dishonorable,
and former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve
due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
The Department of Defense
maintains a toll-free telephone line (1-877-MIL-HONR) for use
by funeral directors only to request honors. Family members should
inform their funeral directors if they desire military funeral
honors for a veteran. VA national cemetery staff can help arrange
for honors during burials at VA national cemeteries. Veterans
service organizations or volunteer groups may help provide honors.
For more information, visit the military funeral honors Web page
(http://www.militaryfuneralhonors.osd.mil).
Veterans' Cemeteries Administered by Other Agencies
Arlington
National Cemetery: Administered by the Department of the Army. Eligibility for burial is more restrictive than at VA national cemeteries. For information, visit (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org), write Superintendent, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA 22211, or call 703-607-8585.
Department
of the Interior: The Department of the Interior administers
two active national cemeteries: Andersonville National Cemetery
in Georgia and Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Tennessee.
Eligibility for burial is similar to VA cemetery eligibility.
State
Veterans Cemeteries: Individual states operate cemeteries
for veterans. Eligibility requirements may differ from those for
national cemeteries. Contact the state cemetery or state veterans
affairs office for additional information. To locate a state veterans
cemetery, visit the Internet (http://www.cem.va.gov/lsvc.htm)
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