Helpful Guides
Cremated remains are inurned in a national cemetery with the same honors as a casketed burial, at no cost to the family. Many families never find out.
For an eligible veteran, burial in a VA national cemetery with available space includes the gravesite or columbarium niche, opening and closing, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate signed by the President. There is no charge to the family for any of it.
Cremated remains are inurned in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains. Choosing cremation does not reduce the entitlement in any way.
Generally, a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. A spouse or surviving spouse and dependent children are usually eligible for burial in a national cemetery alongside the veteran, even if they predecease them, and even if the spouse later remarried in some circumstances.
Eligibility is decided by the VA, not by us, and there are cases at the margins. If there is any doubt at all it is worth asking rather than assuming the answer is no.
The DD-214, or the equivalent discharge document for older service. If the family cannot find it, a copy can be requested from the National Archives, though that takes time, so it is worth starting early.
We make the request to the cemetery on the family’s behalf and handle the filing. Tell us on the first call that your loved one served, because it changes what we do next.
Separately from the cemetery benefit, an eligible veteran is entitled to military funeral honors: at minimum the folding and presentation of the flag and the sounding of Taps by at least two uniformed service members. This can be provided at a memorial service after a cremation, not only at a graveside. It has to be requested, and we can make that request.
Some veterans’ families may also qualify for a VA burial allowance, a monetary reimbursement toward funeral and burial costs. Eligibility is narrower than the national cemetery benefit and depends on the circumstances of death and the veteran’s status. It is worth checking with the VA, and we can point you to the right form.
Yes. Cremated remains are inurned in a VA national cemetery in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains, at no cost to the family. The benefit includes the niche or gravesite, the marker, a burial flag, perpetual care and a Presidential Memorial Certificate.
The DD-214 or the equivalent discharge document. If the family cannot locate it, a copy can be requested from the National Archives, which takes time, so it is worth beginning as early as possible.
A spouse or surviving spouse and dependent children are generally eligible for burial in a national cemetery with the veteran. Eligibility is determined by the VA, and there are cases at the edges worth asking about rather than assuming.
Six to ten certified originals covers most estates. Here is who accepts a photocopy, who will not, and why it matters which you hand over.
You can carry cremated remains onto an aircraft. The thing that stops people is the urn: if the screener cannot see inside it, it does not go through.
The famous $255 payment is real, and it is small. The entitlement worth your attention is the ongoing survivor benefit almost nobody mentions.
This is the single most common misunderstanding we encounter, and it stops families at exactly the wrong moment.
Cremation is permitted. The guidance that follows concerns what happens to the cremated remains afterwards, and it is more specific than most families expect.
A licensed funeral director answers at any hour. There is no cost to call and no obligation.
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