VETERAN'S BENEFITS

When a death occurs the paperwork involved can be confusing and overwhelming. At Musselman Funeral Home & Cremation Services we will assist you in applying for any of the following Veterans Benefits:

Burial Benefits

Burial in National Cemeteries

VA Cemeteries

Burial benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite, a headstone or marker, opening and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national cemeteries have columbaria or gravesites for cremated remains.

Veterans and service-members are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. An eligible veteran must have been discharged or separated from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable and have completed the required period of service. Persons entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable service with a reserve component are eligible. A 1997 law bars persons convicted of federal or state capital crimes from being buried or memorialized in one of the VA national cemeteries or in Arlington National Cemetery.

Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of service-members also may be buried in a national cemetery. Adult children incapable of self - support due to physical or mental disability are eligible for burial. If a surviving spouse of an eligible veteran marries a non-veteran,and remarriage was terminated by divorce or death of the non-veteran, the spouse is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.

Gravesites in national cemeteries cannot be reserved. Application must be made at the time of death. Reservations made under previous programs are honored. Cemeteries do not provide military honors. Military honors must be arranged with military units or volunteer groups.

Headstones and Markers

VA provides headstones and markers for the unmarked graves of veterans anywhere in the world and of eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state veteran or military post cemeteries. Flat bronze, flat granite, flat marble, upright granite and upright marble types are available to mark the grave in a style consistent with the cemetery. Niche markers also are available for identifying cremated remains in columbaria.

Headstones and markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased, branch of service, and the years of birth and death. Optional items that may be inscribed are military grade, rank or rate; war service such as World War II; months and days of birth and death; an emblem reflecting ones religion; and text indicating valor awards. When burial is in a national, state veteran or military post cemetery, the headstone or marker is ordered through the cemetery, which will place it on the grave. Information on style, inscription and shipping can be obtained from the cemetery.

When burial occurs in a cemetery other than a national, military post or state veterans cemetery, the headstone or marker must be applied for from the VA. It is shipped at government expense. VA, however, does not pay the cost of placing the headstone or marker.

VA cannot issue a headstone or marker for a spouse or child buried in a private cemetery. Twenty - year reservists generally are eligible for a headstone or grave marker.

Headstones or Markers for Memorial Plots

To memorialize an eligible veteran whose remains are not available for burial., VA will provide a memorial headstone or marker. The headstone or marker is the same as that used to identify a grave except that the phrase "In Memory" precedes the inscription. The headstone or marker is available to memorialize eligible veterans or deceased service members whose remains were not recovered or identified, were buried at sea, donated to science, or cremated and scattered. The memorial marker also may be provided for placement in a cemetery other than a national cemetery. In such cases, VA supplies the marker and pays the cost of shipping, but does not pay for the plot or the placement of the marker.

Cumberland and York County Commissioners will provide a $50 allowance and Dauphin County Commissioners will provide $75 allowance to be used towards one of thefollowing:

Purchase Headstone or Marker

Inscription of presently owned headstone or marker

Foundation and installation of government headstone/marker

Perry County will not provide an allowance towards a private headstone.

Application must be made within one year of veteran's death.

Death Certificates

10 Free DeathCertificates will come directly to the survivors from the Pennsylvania Department of Vital Records.

Presidential Memorial Certificates

Presidential Memorial Certificates express the nations recognition of a veterans service. Certificates bearing the signature of the President are issued honoring deceased veterans with honorable discharges.Eligible recipients include next of kin and other loved ones. The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient does not preclude certificates to other eligible recipients. The veteran may have died at any time in the past.

Burial Flags

VA provides an American flag to drape the casket of a veteran or a reservist entitled to retired military pay. After the funeral service, the flag may be given to the next of kin or a close associate.

Reimbursement of Burial Expenses

VA will pay a burial allowance up to $1500 if the veterans death is service-connected. In some instances, VA will pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available gravesites. In such cases, the person who bore the veterans burial expenses may claim reimbursement from VA.

VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled to compensation but for receipt of military retirement pay. Eligibility also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, a nursing home under VA contract or a state nursing home. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be paid. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of service connected deaths. In other deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation.

VA will pay a $150 plot allowance when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction under the following circumstances: the veteran was discharged from active duty because of disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; the veteran was in receipt of compensation or pension or would have been except for receiving military retirement pay; or the veteran died in a VA facility. The $150 plot allowance may be paid to the state if a veteran is buried without charge for the cost of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely for veteran burials. Burial expenses paid by the deceaseds employer or a state agency will not be reimbursed.

Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry and York Counties extends an allowance of $100 toward the funeral and burial of honorably discharged veterans who served during any war in which the United States has engaged, and whose legal residence at time of death was in that county. One days service during wartime fulfills time requirement for eligibility.

Widows of eligible military personnel are entitled to $100 burial allowance. They must be a legal resident of that county at the time of death. Their spouses must have been an Honorably Discharged Veteran with wartime service.

Application for this benefit must be made within one year after the death of the veteran.

Grave Flags and Flag Holder Marker

Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry and York Counties provide flags and flag holders. These flags and holders are used to decorate the graves of veterans buried in those counties. The Department of Veterans Services provides the flags free to various veterans organizations which will assume the responsibility of placing them on the appropriate graves. They are also available to individual families requesting them from the department, if one has not been provided by the above.

The following are the types of holders available: Revolutionary War - War of 1812 - Indian War - Civil War - Spanish - American War - World War I - World War II - Korean Conflict - Vietnam Era - Desert Storm.

Whoever steals or attempts to steal any veterans flag holder is guilty of larceny, a felony, and upon conviction shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to undergo imprisonment for one year, or both.

Whoever buys or receives for use as junk or scrap metal any veterans flag holder or emblem is also subject to the same penalties.

Questions or Comments? Contact Musselman Funeral Home and Cremation Services on this website at bdmusselman@verizon.net, call us at 717-763-7440, or stop by at 324 Hummel Ave. Lemoyne.

WorldWar II Memorial