Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Honoring our veterans with a headstone is an easy process
Article of November 30, 2000
It is interesting to know that not all of our ancestors have
headstones to honor their lives or their military service. Equally interesting
is the fact that several living veterans do not realize their
entitlement to the same.
A few months back, I was walking through the National
Cemetery in Staunton recording the names of those buried there. During
that time, a veteran from World War II walked up to me and asked if I
knew how much the Department of Veterans' Affairs charged for the
headstones and what the process was in obtaining one.
He was absolutely
floored when I pronounced that, to eligible veterans, the markers are free
and the stones are shipped free of charge!
Ultimately, the Department of Veterans Affairs "(VA) furnishes upon
request, at no charge to the applicant, a headstone or marker for the
unmarked grave of any deceased veteran discharged from the U.S. Armed
Forces under conditions other than dishonorable."
More information about
obtaining a headstone can be found either on the web
(http://www.cem.va.gov/hm.htm), or by contacting the National Cemetery
Administration (a part of the VA) directly.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of obtaining veterans headstones
has surfaced in the past few years. Many people, including myself, have
persons in their family tree that served in the military over the
course of the history of the United States but were not wealthy enough to
have a headstone purchased to mark their grave. Just last year I marked
two graves * one of an ancestor who served in the War of 1812 and the
other * a Confederate veteran (yes you read that right).
But remember,
when ordering headstones for veterans of wars prior to World War I you
are required to have detailed documentation to prove eligibility such
as, muster rolls, extracts from State files, military or State
organization where served, pension or land warrants, etc.
A trip to the
National Archives or a mail request to that organization isn't so difficult.
Perhaps the biggest mystery is establishing exactly where that veteran
is buried.
In the case of the Confederate veteran, I knew where the family
graveyard was located. I went there, cleared the plot, was able to identify
which graves were for the children and which ones were for the adults
(there were larger stones to mark the head and smaller stones to mark
the footstone), and, by process of elimination identified only two adult
graves located prominently in the graveyard.
This is where a little
speculative work had to be conducted, who was buried on the right or
left. Based upon typical graveyard scenarios, I established that the
husband was buried on the (as your facing the graves) left (or was that the
right - its been a year so pardon my memory).
Now, as far as the VA guidelines for marking the grave of a Civil War
ancestor * remember what I stated above. Also, you can order either
upright headstones or flat markers to mark the graves of Union and
Confederate Civil War dead.
Also remember that it takes about three (3) months (depending on how
busy they are) to get the stone delivered.
AND, when it comes in, be
prepared if you ordered an upright stone * they aren't light of weight!
Especially keep this in mind when, as in one of my situations, you have
to figure how to get the stone to the site of the grave. Then too,
remember that you have to set the stone and hope that the ground is soft!
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