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BURIAL BENEFITS
HEADSTONES AND MARKERS
VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans anywhere
in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national
veteran, state veteran, or military cemeteries. Flat bronze, flat
granite, flat marble, upright granite and upright marble types are
available to mark the grave in a style consistent with the place of
burial. Niche markers also are available to mark columbaria used for the
interment of cremated remains.
Headstones and markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased, the
years of birth and death, and branch of service. Optional items that
also may be inscribed at VA expense are; military grad, rank or rate,
war service (example: “World War II”) months and days of birth and
death; an emblem reflecting one’s religious beliefs; valor awards, and
the Purple Heart. Additional items may be inscribed at private expense.
All markers to be placed in private cemeteries are ordered through the
County Veteran Service Office. Markers to be placed in state veterans or
military cemeteries are ordered through the respective cemetery
officials.
BURIAL ALLOWANCE BENEFITS
VA will pay a burial allowance of up to $2,000 if the veteran’s death is
service connected. VA also will pay the cost of transporting the remains
of a service connected disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest
the home of the deceased that has available grave sites. In such cases,
the person who bore the veteran’s burial expenses may claim
reimbursement from VA. VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense
allowance for veterans who at the time of death, were entitled to
receive pension or compensation. Eligibility is also established when
death occurs in a VA facility or a nursing home with which VA
contracted. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be
reimbursed. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of
service connected deaths. In other deaths, claims must be filed within 2
years after permanent burial or cremation.
VA will pay a $300 plot allowance when the veteran is not buried in a
cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction if the veteran was
entitled to receive pension or compensation, or if the veteran died
while hospitalized by VA.
BURIAL FLAGS
VA provides an American flag to drape the casket of an Active Duty
veteran, a person entitled to retired military pay and to a reservist
who completed at least one enlistment in the Selected Reserve. After the
funeral service, the flag may be given to the next of kin or a close
associate.
VA also will issue a flag on behalf of a service member who was missing
in action and later presumed dead. In La Crosse County, flags are issued
to funeral homes through the County Veterans Service Office.
BURIAL IN NATIONAL CEMETERIES
Burial benefits in a VA national Cemetery include the gravesite, opening
and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national cemeteries
have columbaria for the interment of cremated remains or special
gravesites for the burial of cremated remains.
Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of armed forces
members also may be buried in a national cemetery. A surviving spouse of
an eligible veteran who married a non-veteran, and who is again single
at the time of death, is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.
Gravesites in national cemeteries cannot be reserved. Funeral directors
or others making burial arrangements must apply at the time of death.
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