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The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it is moving forward with a plan to provide burial services for the veterans in rural areas where there are no available VA national cemeteries, state cemeteries or tribal veterans cemeteries.
Under the Rural Initiative Plan, the VA will build small National Veterans Burial Grounds within existing public or private cemeteries in rural areas, where the unserved veteran population is 25,000 or less within a 75-mile radius. The VA remains committed to improving service to veterans living in rural areas.
A National Veterans Burial Ground will be a small, VA managed section of three to five acres within an existing public or private cemetery.
The VA will provide a full range of burial options and control the operation and maintenance of these lots. These sections will be held to the same national standards as the VA run national cemeteries.
The VA plans to open eight National Veterans Burial Grounds that will serve veterans in the areas of Fargo, N.D., Rhinelander, Wis., Cheyenne, Wyo., Laurel, Mont., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Cedar City, Utah, Calais, Maine and Elko, Nev.
The VA is still evaluating suitable sites for its Rural Initiative Plan. In Laurel, Mont., the VA is exploring with local officials the feasibility of acquiring a portion of the Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery to establish as a National Veterans Burial Ground.
VA officials will announce further details about the eight new burial grounds available to more than 136,000 veterans and their eligible dependents.
The VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers lots and monument sites. Nearly 4 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, are buried in VA national cemeteries on more than 19,000 acres.
Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national cemetery.
Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone, a grave marker or medallion.
More information on VA burial benefits are available at national cemetery locations or at www.cem.va.gov.
To make burial arrangements at the time of need at any VA national cemetery, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117. or contact a local veterans service officer.
Speak to you again next week.
Reach Jim Vines at jim.helpingveterans@gmail.com.
Viewpoints
COLUMN: Veteran's Corner
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NOTES FROM THE JOURNEY: Survivors are heroes, too
Recently, we attended the production of two one-act plays at Weatherford College, both under the excellent direction of Nancy McVean. The first, entitled simply “New York,” was set in a Manhattan psychiatrist’s office shortly after 9-11 as 10 different patients who had either been present at the Twin Towers or had lost loved ones in the disaster came seeking solace. Each survivor struggled with their own grief and internal conflict as the doctor listened and tried to help.
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TISIONE: We worship the triune God
Many Christians recently celebrated the feast of Pentecost, which is sometimes called Whitsunday. Pentecost as you may know was celebrated in the Old Testament. The Bible refers to it as the Feast of Weeks. It was ordained by God to be one of the three mandatory celebrations in Israel along with Passover and the Feast of Booths.
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Letters to the Editor – May 23, 2013
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CNHI EDITORIAL: Seizure of AP phone records an insult to independent press
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NOW HEAR THIS: ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate’
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Letters to the Editor – May 19, 2013
Do you remember the “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” sign that the personnel on the USS Abraham Lincoln displayed to greet President Bush when he went out to greet them?
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Guest opinion: Campaign with honor
All politics is local and personal! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful summer, filled with relationship building experiences and times of relaxation. As you do all the things that re-charge us for the next round at work and involvement in community and political activities, let’s reflect on the 2013 local elections for a moment.
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TISCIONE: Woe for calling evil good
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Letters to the Editor – May 17, 2013
As mercury pollution threatens our waterways and carbon pollution-fueled climate change worsens extreme weather, we need someone in Washington who knows how to get things done.
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