As a service member or military family member you should be aware of your memorial benefits before you need them. The following information is presented to assist you in dealing with the loss of a service member or veteran.

In return for the supreme sacrifices that you and your family make as part of the Armed Forces, The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides Memorial and Burial services for eligible active duty, reserve, and veteran members. Burial benefits available include a grave site in any of the 120 national cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a Government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, at no cost to the family. Reimbursement payments are also available for transport of remains, as well as a burial allowance. Cremated remains are buried or inurned in national cemeteries in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains. In addition veterans and military retirees are entitled to military funeral honors.

Eligibility
Generally, service members who die while on active duty and veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. Reservists and National Guard members are eligible if they were entitled to retired pay at the time of death, or would have been entitled had they not been under the age of 60.

VA National Cemetery Burial Eligibility
VA national cemetery directors have the primary responsibility for verifying eligibility for burial in VA national cemeteries. A determination of eligibility is usually made in response to a request for burial in a VA national cemetery. VA Regional Offices will also assist in determining eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery. The toll-free number for the nearest VA Regional Office is 1-800-827-1000.

Persons NOT Eligible for Burial in a VA National Cemetery
The following is a list of persons who are not eligible for VA Burial benefits:

• Former Spouses: A former spouse of an eligible individual whose marriage to that individual has been terminated by annulment or divorce, if not otherwise eligible.
• Other Family Members: Family members of an eligible person except those defined as eligible above.
• Disqualifying Characters of Discharge: A person whose only separation from the Armed Forces was under dishonorable conditions or whose character of service results in a bar to veterans benefits.
• Discharge from Draft: A person who was ordered to report to an induction station, but was not actually inducted into military service.
• Person Found Guilty of a Capital Crime
• Subversive Activities: Any person convicted of subversive activities after September 1, 1959, shall have no right to burial in a national cemetery from and after the date of commission of such offense, based on periods of active military service commencing before the date of the commission of such offense, nor shall another person be entitled to burial on account of such an individual. Eligibility will be reinstated if the President of the United States grants a pardon.
  Active or Inactive Duty for Training
  
  A person whose only service is active duty for training or inactive duty training in the National Guard or Reserve Component, unless the individual meets the eligibility criteria listed above.

Russell Haven of Rest Cemetery and Funeral Home will assist you in Verifying Eligibility for Military Benefits.