Veteran Burial Benefits

VA Cemeteries

Burial in a VA cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and veterans who have met minimum active duty requirements, as applicable, and did not receive a dishonorable discharge. A veteran’s spouse, widow or widower, minor children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities, may also be eligible for burial. Spouses and dependent family members may be buried in the same plot regardless of date of death.


VA Cemeteries closest to Elgin and Cary include:

*

 At this time only accepting burial of cremated remains or full-body burial for spouses already buried there.


Formal Funeral Services are not held at VA Cemeteries, but a final committal service can be performed at the cemetery. At Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, the committal service is held at a shelter, not graveside. At the time of the burial, the VA will provide, at no cost to the veteran’s family, a gravesite, headstone or marker, Presidential Memorial Certificate, U.S. Flag, opening and closing the grave, and perpetual care of the gravesite.


  • For more information regarding burial benefits, click here.
  • Answers to frequently asked questions can be found here.
  • If you have a loved one buried at a VA Cemetery, the gravesite can be located here.

Private Cemeteries

Please be aware that no federal funding is available for purchasing gravesites, opening and closing, or the installation of private headstones at private cemeteries.


The VA will provide a standard veteran headstone or marker in a private cemetery at no cost, but the setting fees will be at the veteran’s expense.

If the veteran chooses burial in a private cemetery with a private headstone, the Department of Veteran Affairs will provide a medallion to identify veteran status at no cost to the family.

VETERANS HEADSTONES

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a Government headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world, regardless of their date of death. For eligible veterans that died on or after Nov. 1, 1990, VA may also provide a headstone or marker for graves that are already marked with a private headstone or marker. When the grave is already marked, applicants will have the option to apply for either a traditional headstone, marker, or medallion..


Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains.


When burial or memorialization is in a national cemetery, state veterans' cemetery, or military post/base cemetery, a headstone or marker will be ordered by the cemetery officials based on inscription information provided by the next of kin or authorized representative.


Spouses and dependents are not eligible for a Government-furnished headstone or marker unless they are buried in a national cemetery, state veteran's cemetery, or military post/base cemetery.


Note: There is no charge for the headstone or marker itself, however arrangements for placing it in a private cemetery are the applicant's responsibility and all setting fees are at private expense.

VETERANS BURIAL FLAGS

A United States flag is provided, at no cost, to drape the casket or accompany the urn of a deceased veteran who served honorably in the U. S. Armed Forces. It is furnished to honor the memory of a veteran's military service to his or her country. VA will furnish a burial flag for memorialization for:

  • A veteran who served during wartime
  • A veteran who died on active duty after May 27, 1941
  • A veteran who served after January 31, 1955
  • A peacetime veteran who was discharged or released before June 27, 1950
  • Certain persons who served in the organized military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines while in service of the U.S. Armed Forces and who died on or after April 25, 1951
  • Certain former members of the Selected Reserves


For More Information Call Toll-Free at 1-800-827-1000