Military Spouse Burial Question

[CodeJockey]

All, it's looking like my mom is likely going to be gone by the end of the week, if not sooner. My dad is an army veteran who fought in Vietnam. He served 9 years, so he did not retire, but he was honorably discharged. Anyway, he says he's eligible to be buried in the national cemetery near us, and that he thinks mom might be eligible to be buried next to him. He's completely unable to handle any of this emotionally now, so I have to deal with it. Knowing the government and how slow things work, I'm hesitant to wait to look into this until after she's gone. They should have done this a long time ago, but they didn't.

Anyway, my question is, can anyone confirm if a spouse is able to be buried next to her husband in a national cemetery? Also, can anyone verify that my dad would be able to be buried there? If so, who can I contact? Is that handled by the local funeral home, or would I need to contact someone in the military or government, and if so, who? I would sincerely appreciate any help on this. I'm kind of lost.

[Hoi Polloi]

May the Holy Spirit provide the wisdom, grace, and comfort you need during this time.

[Texas Dan Mosby]

My condolences.

IAW the VA web site, spouses appear to be eligible for burial in a national cemetery.

VA site: http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/bbene/eligible.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your best bet is to contact your local Veterans Administration.

[gigag04]

My condolences.

IAW the VA web site, spouses appear to be eligible for burial in a national cemetery.

VA site: http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/bbene/eligible.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your best bet is to contact your local Veterans Administration.

[steve817]

Go to the funeral home of your choosing and they will help you with all the details. They will just need a copy of your Dad's discharge papers. If I remember correctly they (the government) will cover the plot and I believe the vault. The expense for the casket, flowers and such will be covered by the family.

It is a great benefit for those who completely deserve it. The downside is that you are on the governments schedule so the services will take place when they say it does. It took over a week before we got my Mom buried, my Dad on the other hand was buried within a couple of days. Sorry you are going through this.

[b322da]

I can strongly second the advice that you consult with a local funeral home which first demonstrates to you that it has satisfactorily handled cases of veterans and their spouses before -- not just any funeral home. I, for example, have purchased from a local funeral home an insurance policy which pays their expenses for myself and my wife, including cremation, transportation of remains to Arlington National Cemetary, and dealing with the military authorities there to arrange inurnment. They demonstrated to my satisfaction that they were experienced in doing this.

I and my wife did the same for her father and mother before their deaths, and they are now in Arlington, without my wife having to go through any of those difficult processes when she was in no shape to do so. Once again, it was handled by the funeral home 100%, including a prearranged obituary, and all my wife had to do was be at Arlington for the touching military ceremony and the inurnment.

For ourselves this is all set up now, in advance, all paid for, and a call to the funeral home by her or me, as the case may be, will be all that is required. They already have in our file all the requisite documentation. Take it from me, this is not the time for a surviving spouse to have to go through unnecessary red tape, including locating DD-214s, marriage certificates, wills, and such.

Elmo