Interments in Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries
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Department of Veterans Affairs VA-NCA-IS-1 National Cemetery Administration January 2011 Washington, DC 20420 INTERMENTS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) NATIONAL CEMETERIES I. VA National Cemetery Administration In 862, President Lincoln signed into law legislation authorizing the establishment of national cemeteries “. for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country.” Fourteen cemeteries were established that year. These national cemeteries were the beginning of today’s National Cemetery Administration. After the Civil War, search and recovery teams visited hundreds of battlefields, churchyards, plantations and other locations seeking wartime interments that were made in haste. By 870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Civil War dead were reinterred in 73 national cemeteries. The National Cemetery Administration has undergone many changes since its inception. In 873, Congress extended the right of burial in a national cemetery to all honorably discharged Union Veterans of the Civil War. By a 933 Executive Order, certain national cemeteries were transferred from the War Department (now the Department of the Army) to the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior. In June 973, Public Law 93-43 authorized the transfer of 82 national cemeteries from the Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs. This action combined the 82 Army cemeteries with 2 cemeteries already under VA’s jurisdiction. With the addition of 29 new cemeteries since 973, and the transfer of one historic site and cemetery to the State of Kentucky, the National Cemetery Administration now comprises 3 national cemeteries. The Department of the Army still administers two national cemeteries -- Arlington and the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home, both in the Washington, DC area -- and the Department of Interior administers 4, for an overall total of 4 national cemeteries. In 978, Congress established the State Cemetery Grants Program (Public Law 95-476). Administered by the National Cemetery Administration to aid States and U.S. territories in the establishment, expansion and improvement of Veterans cemeteries, the State Cemetery Grants Program complements the National Cemetery Administration by providing gravesites for Veterans in those areas not adequately served by national cemeteries. State veterans cemeteries enhance VA’s ability to meet the burial needs of America’s Veterans. II. General Information 1. INTERMENT IN NATIONAL AND STATE CEMETERIES a. Burial in a national cemetery is based on military service. Requests for interment in national cemeteries should be directed to staff at the cemetery where burial is sought. A list of VA national cemeteries is provided in Section V.2 of this information sheet or on-line at http://www.cem. va.gov. The cemetery director determines eligibility for burial, usually at the time of need. Most categories of persons entitled to burial in VA national cemeteries are summarized in Section III of this information sheet. January 2011 VA-NCA-IS- b. Arlington National Cemetery is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. Inquiries concerning eligibility for interment there should be directed to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. See Section V.5 of this information sheet for the address and phone number or on-line at http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org. c. The two active national cemeteries administered by the Department of the Interior -- Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia and Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Tennessee -- use the same eligibility criteria as the National Cemetery Administration. Addresses and telephone numbers for cemeteries administered by the Department of the Interior are provided in Section V.3 of this information sheet. d. Eligibility criteria for burial in State veterans cemeteries are the same or similar to criteria for burial in VA national cemeteries, but some States have residency requirements and other more restrictive requirements. State cemeteries should be contacted directly for information. State veterans cemeteries are listed in Section V.4 of this information sheet or on-line at http://www.cem. va.gov. 2. ASSIGNMENT OF SPACE a. The National Cemetery Administration is authorized to bury eligible individuals in any VA national cemetery with available grave space. See Section V.2 of this information sheet for a list of VA national cemeteries. b. One gravesite or columbarium niche is authorized for the interment of all eligible members of a family except where soil conditions require more than one grave, or when the number of eligible family decedents requires more than one grave, or niche. c. A gravesite is not reserved before it is needed for a burial. VA honors reservations made through 962, when cemeteries were under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army and reservations were allowed. When a death occurs and eligibility for interment in a national cemetery is determined, grave space is assigned by the cemetery director in the name of the Veteran. d. Many VA national cemeteries that have exhausted space for full-casket burials can still inter cremated remains. Occasionally, full-casket gravesites become available in these cemeteries due to disinterments or when gravesite reservations made through 962 are canceled. Contact the cemetery director for information regarding the availability of grave space. 3. ENTITLEMENT TO BURIAL BENEFITS a. There is no charge for burial in a national cemetery. Opening and closing of the grave, a headstone or marker with authorized inscription(s), and perpetual maintenance will be provided by the Government. Flat bronze, granite or marble grave markers and upright marble or granite headstones are available to mark graves in the style consistent with existing monuments at the national cemetery. Marble, granite, or bronze niche covers are used on columbarium. b. At no expense to the next of kin, VA furnishes graveliners for new graves in national cemeteries with space available. The next of kin may choose to purchase and use a private outer 2 VA-NCA-IS-1 January 2011 burial receptacle rather than use the government furnished graveliner and receive a monetary allowance equal to the average cost to the Government of a graveliner, less administrative costs. This monetary allowance will partially defray the cost of a privately purchased outer burial receptacle. Outer burial receptacles may be purchased at private expense for family members of an individual previously buried, if advance approval of the cemetery director is obtained. c. A United States flag is provided to drape the casket or accompany the urn of an eligible Veteran who was discharged from military service under conditions other than dishonorable. A burial flag may be provided by a funeral director or obtained at VA Regional Offices and most local post offices. After the service, the flag will be presented to the next of kin or close associate of the deceased. Flags may be donated to a national cemetery to be flown on appropriate days, if the cemetery has an Avenue of Flags program. VA also will issue a burial flag on behalf of a servicemember who was missing in action and later presumed dead by the military department. By law, only one flag is presented for the eligible Veteran. d. VA may not reimburse any costs associated with the burial, including transportation of the remains, of a decedent other than a Veteran. VA will pay a monetary burial and funeral expense allowance for Veterans who, at the 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 for the allowance also may be established when death occurs in a VA hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary, or a hospital or nursing home with which VA contracted, and additional costs of transportation of the remains may be reimbursed in those cases. In these cases, VA will also pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled Veteran to the national cemetery with available grave space nearest his or her home. The person who bore the Veteran’s burial expenses may claim reimbursement up to prescribed limits. e. A person who dies on active duty is entitled to certain benefits from the military. Information about these benefits is available from the branch of the Armed Forces in which the person served. f. A Presidential Memorial Certificate may be requested to honor the memory of any deceased Veteran who was discharged under honorable conditions. The local VA Regional Office generally originates the first request for a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Request forms may also be accessed online at http://www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA40-0247.pdf. Eligible recipients include next of kin, other relatives and friends. Requests should be accompanied by a copy of a document such as a military discharge certificate to establish honorable service. g. Additional information concerning reimbursement of burial expenses and other benefits by VA may be found in VA Pamphlet 80-0-01, “Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors. “A copy of VA Pamphlet 80-0-01 can be obtained from most VA offices or the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or viewed on-line at http://www.va.gov/opa. 4. ARRANGING AN INTERMENT IN A VA NATIONAL CEMETERY a. Interment arrangements for an eligible Veteran or dependent are made by the funeral director or the next of kin at the time of need by contacting the national cemetery scheduling office at -800-535-1117. A dependent is buried based upon the eligibility of the Veteran. To establish the 3 January 2011 VA-NCA-IS- Veteran’s eligibility, the name of the Veteran, together with the rank; serial, service, social security, and VA claim numbers, as applicable; date and place of entry into and separation from the service; branch of service; date and place of birth; and date of death should be furnished.