Veteran Information
 

As an honorably discharged Veteran of the United States Armed Services you and your spouse are entitled to several benefits.

The first benefit is the availability for burial in any National Cemetery at no expense for any cemetery charges to you or your family. This includes your choice for both the Veteran and Spouse of either a grave space for the burial of a casket or urn, or if available at the cemetery of your selection a niche to hold your cremated remains. Also included is the opening and closing of the grave space or niche, a concrete grave liner to hold the casket in the ground, and a marker or niche front.

The Veteran is also entitled to an American Flag and Final Military Honors by Active Duty Personnel from the appropriate branch of Service.

Our three nearest National Cemeteries are Sarasota National Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida, Bay Pines National Cemetery in Bay Pines, Florida, and Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. Sarasota National and Florida National Cemeteries are both classified as full service cemeteries accepting both casketed and cremated remains, whereas Bay Pines National will only accept cremated remains.

In order to arrange for burial in the National Cemetery, all that is required is your final DD-214 or other discharge document that shows your service record and states that you were Honorably Discharges from the United States Armed Services.

Should you and your spouse wish to be buried in a non-National Cemetery, you as a Veteran would still be eligible for a Marker for your grave space, the American Flag and Final Military Honors at no charge. If you have purchased a private memorial for your grave space, at the time of passing, your family might be eligible for reimbursement for a portion of the memorial from the Veterans Administration in lieu of receiving a Military memorial from them.

The second major benefit that is available to some Veterans is a Burial Allowance. This allowance is normally provided when one of the following conditions is met.
1- The deceased Veteran passed away at a Veterans Medical Center
2- The deceased Veteran was Honorably Retired from the United States Armed Services with at least 20 years of Service.
3- The deceased Veteran was receiving a Disability Pension at the time of his or her passing for injuries occurring in the line of duty.

The basic allowance for a non-service connected death is normally $ 300. Should the death be due to a service connected injury or disability then the amount paid can be up to $ 2,000. A claim for this benefit must be filed within two years of the Veteran’s passing.

A third benefit that might be available to the spouse of a Veteran is a Widow/Widower’s Pension. For more information on this benefit please visit the Veterans Administration website at www.va.gov.

Please feel free to contact one of our Funeral Directors or Pre-Need Counselors should you have any questions in regards to the above Veteran Benefits.

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