The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program to reimburse for the purchase of a casket or urn used to inter a deceased, eligible, Unclaimed Veteran in a VA National Cemetery, is in place. The program allows for the reimbursement to any individual or entity, has standards for the casket or urn purchased, and by law requires that the Veteran died on or after January 10, 2014.
For eligible Veterans who died on or after January 10, 2014 and were interred in a VA national cemetery prior to May 13, 2015 there are special instructions for applying for the reimbursement.
To learn more about the program and how to receive reimbursement, please reference the fact sheets listed below.
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces, and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements, and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Their spouse, widow, or widower, minor children, and, under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities, may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran. Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
Please look for our future e-mails on memorial benefits available for eligible Veterans and spouses. Also, please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign-up for future e-mail updates and information regarding VA memorial benefits through GovDelivery at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/usvanca/subscriber/new.