Veterans Burial Benefits
I am often asked what type of benefits veterans are entitled to at the time of their death. Below is a condensed list of the basic burial benefits available to a veteran. To be clear, the following is not a comprehensive list. For full eligibility requirements and benefits, please visit www.va.gov.
Current members of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) are considered eligible for veterans burial benefits. Also eligible are any veterans who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, i.e., retired, medical discharge, honorable discharge, etc. Veterans’ spouses and their dependent children are also eligible for most burial benefits.
Available at no cost to the family, veterans burial benefits include a gravesite in any of our 155 national cemeteries, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a headstone/grave marker, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. A veteran is also entitled to an honor guard consisting of service members (retired or active duty) that fold and present the flag, play taps, and occasionally perform a gun salute. These benefits apply to traditional casket burials as well as cremation burials. A veteran who chooses to be buried in a private cemetery rather than a national cemetery is also entitled to these benefits; however, the veteran must purchase the gravesite and pay out-of-pocket for the opening and closing fees at the cemetery. The veteran’s family is then reimbursed through a burial allowance to help offset the charges.
Although veterans burial benefits do cover burial/cemetery expenses, they do NOT cover funeral home expenses. It is the family’s responsibility to pay for any and all funeral home-incurred expenses, such as professional service fees, caskets, death certificates, obituaries, flowers, etc.
Please contact us with any additional questions concerning veterans burial benefits. Serenity Funeral Home is located just off Riverside Dr. at 1316 S. 400 E., Ste. A5, St. George, or call us at (435) 986-9100. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SerenityFuneralSTG.
Submitted by W. Russell Atkin, Owner/Licensed Funeral Director, Serenity Funeral Home of Southern Utah.
