Veterans and their families
The entitlements are real, they are substantial, and a great many families never find out they existed. Tell us your loved one served, on the first call.
For an eligible veteran, burial in a VA national cemetery with available space includes the gravesite or columbarium niche, opening and closing, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate signed by the President. There is no charge to the family for any of it.
Cremated remains are inurned in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains, so the choice between them does not reduce the entitlement.
Separately from the cemetery benefit, an eligible veteran is entitled to military funeral honors: at minimum the folding and presentation of the flag and the sounding of Taps by at least two uniformed service members. It has to be requested, and we can make that request on your behalf.
Honors can be rendered at a memorial service rather than only at a graveside, which matters when the burial itself is happening in another country.
Generally, a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. A spouse or surviving spouse and dependent children are usually eligible for burial in a national cemetery alongside the veteran, even if they predecease them.
Eligibility is decided by the VA, not by us, and there are cases at the margins. If there is any doubt it is worth asking rather than assuming the answer is no.
The DD-214, or the equivalent discharge document for older service. If the family cannot find it, a copy can be requested from the National Archives, but that takes time, which is the reason to mention military service on the very first call rather than a week in.
We make the request to the cemetery and handle the filing. If your loved one is being repatriated to another country instead, tell us anyway: burial allowances and honors may still apply, and the paperwork is easier to gather now than later.
Burial or inurnment in a VA national cemetery with available space, at no cost to the family: the gravesite or niche, opening and closing, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Military funeral honors may also be requested.
The DD-214 or the equivalent discharge document. If the family cannot locate it, a copy can be requested from the National Archives, which takes time. That is why it is worth telling us about military service on the first call rather than later.
Tell us either way. Some entitlements, including burial allowances and military funeral honors, may still apply even where the interment itself happens in another country. It costs nothing to check and the paperwork is far easier to gather now than afterwards.
One sentence on the first call can be worth thousands of dollars to a family, and it is the sentence people most often forget to say.
Call (239) 207-0390Answered 24 hours, 7 days · Se habla español