VA National Cemetery Burial: Rules, Eligibility, and Benefits Explained

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VA National Cemetery Burial: Burial in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery is one of the highest honors a US veteran and their family can receive. It carries deep meaning and shows respect for those who served the country. Here is how you can recive one too.

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Who Can Be Buried in a VA Cemetery?

  • The VA allows burial for veterans who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
  • Service members still on active duty, in active training, or inactive duty training when they passed away are also eligible.
  • Surviving spouses, including those who later remarried, and eligible children, including some adult dependents who are unmarried, can also be buried there.
  • Members of the National Guard and Reserve qualify if they served 20 years eligible for retirement, were called involuntarily to active duty, or died during qualifying training.

The VA points out that some people are not eligible. Dishonorable discharges, annulled marriages, and certain criminal convictions can disqualify a veteran or family member from burial or memorial benefits.

What the VA provides to families

Free burial in a national cemetery is provided for families. The benefit includes:

  • Gravesite and grave opening/closing.
  • Perpetual care of the site.
  • A government-furnished headstone, marker, or niche cover.
  • A burial flag and military funeral honors.
  • A Presidential Memorial Certificate.

Cremated remains are also qualified for the same honors and can be buried in a columbarium or gravesite.

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Financial Help and Planning Ahead

Besides burial space, the VA can pay some funeral costs. This includes a funeral and burial allowance if the veteran died in service or was receiving VA benefits at death. Families may also get a plot or interment allowance and help covering shipping remains to a national cemetery. For non-service-related deaths, filing deadlines exist, but for service-connected deaths, these deadlines may not apply.

Planning early is good beacuse they can ask for Pre-Need Eligibility using Form VA 40-10007. Keep military papers like DD-214 safe when the time comes, the VA Cemetery Office will handle everything after getting the right papers.

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