Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 09/24/2001

I am a widow, unmarried since 1988. I would like to know, since my second and third husbands have died, if I am reinstated with the grave site in which my first husband or lay or have I lost that benefit. I know that other benefits have been reinstated. I was 26 years old when my first husband died in service, in 1958. I am now 68 years old. In those days we were given a grave side by side. I was told I had to give up this benefit after I married again. Mrs. Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis and, following his death and her own, was buried next to President Kennedy. I am asking to be buried in the same grave as my first husband. Is that possible? Is it possible to be reinstated for grave site benefits? I don’t have a reserve plot anymore.

J.S.T.
Newport News, VA

Dear J.S.T.:
Just as Jackie Onassis was eligible to be buried next to her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, you and other reinstated Dependency and Indemnity Compensation survivors are eligible to be buried with your first husband, depending on where he is buried, either at Arlington National Cemetery or one of the VA cemeteries. The regulation simply states, both at Arlington and other VA cemeteries, that a surviving spouse of an eligible decedent who has remarried an ineligible individual and whose remarriage is void, terminated by death, or dissolved by annulment or divorce by a court, with basic authority to render such decrees, regains eligibility for burial at Arlington National Cemetery or other national VA cemetery site (unless it is determined that the decree of annulment or divorce was secured through fraud or collusion).

For more information about burial at VA national cemeteries, read on…

Shaft Kudos
To the Department of Veterans Affairs for producing a very helpful and informative 17-minute video program, "A Sacred Trust: The Story of the National Cemetery Administration." This very moving video dramatizes a funeral at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration (NCA) cemetery. The program is intended to provide an overview of NCA burial benefits to those individuals who have little knowledge or understanding of the benefits or the mission of the NCA (to honor veterans with a final resting place and lasting memorials that commemorate their service to our nation). When showing the video, the presenter may provide detailed information on the issues and themes presented. Handouts, such as the NCA national brochure, your particular cemetery’s brochure, or the VA booklet, "Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents," may help viewers understand more specific questions.

On July 17, 1862, Congress enacted legislation that authorized the President to purchase "cemetery grounds" to be used as national cemeteries "for soldiers who shall have died in the service of the country." Fourteen cemeteries were established that first year. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been buried in 73 national cemeteries. Most of the cemeteries were located in the southeast, near the battlefields and campgrounds of the Civil War.

All honorably discharged veterans became eligible for burial in 1873.

In the 1930s, new national cemeteries were established to serve veterans living in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Baltimore, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Antonio. In 1973, Congress transferred 82 national cemeteries from the Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration.

Today there are a total of 135 national cemeteries. VA, through its National Cemetery Administration, directs 119 of them. Two national cemeteries – Arlington and The United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home – are administered by the Department of the Army. The National Park Service maintains 14 national cemeteries. Additionally, most post military installations have post cemeteries. The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act of 1999 requires the VA to establish six additional national cemeteries in the areas of the U.S. where the need is greatest: Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma City.

A run-down on the composition of NCA and state veterans cemeteries is available on-line:

As of October 2000 there are 119 national cemeteries (see web site www.cem.va.gov/listcem/htm;

As of October 2000 there are 42 state veterans cemeteries (www.cem.va.gov/svc.htm)

Information about the Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldier’s and Airmen’s Home cemetery, both maintained by the Department of the Army, and post cemeteries found on military installations is available at www.arlingtoncemetery.org ; 

The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains 24 military cemeteries and several monuments overseas (www.abmc.gov); and 

The Department of the Interior’s National Parks Service maintains 14 veterans cemeteries; two are open for new burials. Eligibility for burial is similar to VA cemetery eligibility. For more information, see www.cem.va.gov/doi/htm .

The Sarge congratulates Greenbelt, Maryland, resident Richard J. Santos on his recent election as national commander of the 2.8 million member American Legion, our nation’s largest veterans organization. Delegates at The American Legion’s 83rd national convention elected Santos to a one-year term. A career insurance representative, Santos served on active duty in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. Prior to becoming the Legion’s top officer, Santo, a member of the Greenbelt American Legion Post 136, held leadership positions at the organization’s post, state, and national levels. He also has been serving in gubernatorial appointments to the Maryland Veterans Commission and the Maryland Military Monuments Commission. During his one-year term he will focus on funding and improving health care and benefits for America’s veterans. Other metropolitan DC area residents appointed as American Legion national officers are National Sergeant at Arms Raymond P. Jacquez of Laurel, MD., and National Chaplain Dr. David Russell of Spotsylvania, VA.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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