SubscribeSeeking burial and memorial benefits
Question: My father served in the U. S. Navy and now he has a terminal illness, when the time comes we may not be able to incur all of the burial cost. Can the VA help my family with the expense?
Answer: Yes, if your father was honorably discharged from the Navy, he is eligible for VA burial and memorial benefits.
With certain exceptions, active duty 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 of active duty as in the case of reservists or National Guard members called to active duty for a limited duration, according to the 2010 edition of Federal Benefits for Veterans. However, active duty for training by itself while serving in the Reserves or National Guard is not sufficient to be granted eligibility.
To determine eligibility, you will need a copy of your father’s discharge document that identifies the period of active duty and the status of his discharge. Then, the VA’s National Cemetery Scheduling Office or local national cemetery directors can verify eligibility for burial.
Also, the spouse and dependent children of Veterans and active duty service members may be eligible for VA burial and memorial benefits. Reservists and National Guard members, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are eligible if they were entitled to retired pay at the time of death, or would have been upon reaching requisite age.
Under Section 2411 of Title 38 of the United States Code, certain otherwise eligible individuals found to have committed federal or state capital crimes are barred from burial or memorialization in a VA national cemetery, and from receipt of government-furnished headstones, markers, burial flags and Presidential Memorial Certificates, according to the Federal Benefits booklet.
The VA offers a full range of burial and memorial benefits. To find out what expenses the VA will offer, call 1-800-827-1000 or visit www.cem.va.gov/.
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Russell Davis has spent the last few years aggressively seeking answers to his own veterans’ benefit questions. He’ll be taking over the Taking on Life blog every Friday to tell you what he’s learned and to help honorable military discharged women and men, their spouses, partners and others to find answers. Click here to read his previous questions and answers, or to ask him a question.
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