Veteran Death Benefits

Veteran Death Benefits

Death Benefits

This page is for benefits for the deceased Veteran. For Survivor benefits click HERE.


Burial Allowance

This benefit helps cover burial, funeral, and transportation costs.

Eligibility

There are three kinds of burial allowances: Non-Service Connected (NSC), Service-Connected (SC) and Death Under Care. Burial benefits are made up of the burial allowance itself, Plot benefits, and Transportation benefits.

Not every Veteran’s survivors are entitled to a Burial allowance. If your Veteran was not in receipt of benefits at death, did not have a pending claim at death, or did not pass away under care, their claim for Burial benefits is very likely to be denied.

  • NSC Death: This is VA’s version of the Social Security $255 Lump Sum Death Benefit. The Veteran had to have been in receipt of benefits at the time of death (Compensation or Pension). The NSC Burial Allowance is $300.

  • SC Death: This is VA’s burial decision indicating that the Veteran’s death was somehow tied to their military service. The biggest driver of this is the combination of issues that the Veteran was rated for during their lifetime and the published cause of death on the death certificate. If you select SC Burial as an option on the application and that link is not obvious, you will get a letter asking you to provide scientific or medical evidence.

  • Death Under Care: Those not in receipt can only be awarded Burial benefits if they died under care. Dying under care is an unofficial catch-all to describe death that happens at or in transit to/from a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), death at a State Veterans Home, or death at a contract nursing home. The nursing home that a Veteran deceased at would have been arranged by the local VAMC to qualify as death under care.

Applying

(Yes, that is the same address as for Survivor Benefits. The Pension Management Centers (PMC) in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, also handle Veteran burial claims.)

Additionally, copies of the following documents need to be attached:

  • The Veteran’s military discharge papers (DD214 or other separation documents)
  • The Veteran’s death certificate
  • Any documents or receipts you have for the cost of transporting the Veteran’s remains with itemized costs. Funeral bills with all of the sections marked ‘Included’ are generally not acceptable.
  • A statement of account (preferably with the letterhead of the funeral director or cemetery owner) that has this information:
  • The Veteran’s name, and
  • The type of service or item purchased, and
  • Any credits, and
  • The amount paid

NOTES:

  • The application must be filed within two years after the Veteran’s burial or cremation. If the death was deemed not service-connected.
  • If the death was deemed service-connected there is no time limit to file.

Burial or Inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery

Certain Veterans are eligible to be interned or inurned, in Arlington National Cemetery.

Eligibility

The Veteran can be eligible through their own service, or may be eligible through the service of a close relative who is eligible. No matter what, the Veteran’s last character of discharge from the military MUST have been Honorable!

Primary Burial Eligibility

The Veteran must meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Veteran retired from active military service.

  • Veteran retired from a Reserve component who served a period of active duty (other than for training).

  • Veteran was medically separated before 1949 who served a period of active duty (other than for training), and who would have been eligible for retirement under the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 1201 had the statute been in effect on the date of separation.

  • Veteran awarded one of the following decorations:

  • Congressional Medal of Honor;

  • Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, or Navy Cross;

  • Distinguished Service Medal;

  • Silver Star; or

  • Purple Heart.

  • Veteran was a former prisoner of war (POW).

  • Veteran served on active duty (other than active duty for training) and who held any of the following positions:

  • President or Vice President of the United States;

  • Elected member of the U.S. Congress;

  • Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States or Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States;

  • A position listed, at the time the person held the position, in 5 U.S.C. 5312 or 5313 (Levels I and II of the Executive Schedule); or

  • Chief of Mission of a Category 4, 5, or 5+ post if the Department of State classified that post as a Category 4, 5, or 5+ post during the person’s tenure as Chief of Mission.

Derivatively Burial Eligibility

An honorably discharged veteran who does not qualify as a primarily eligible person. The veteran will be buried in the same gravesite as an already interred primarily eligible person who is a close relative*, where the interment meets all of the following conditions:

  • The Veteran is without minor or unmarried adult dependent children;

  • The Veteran will not occupy space reserved for the spouse, a minor child, or a permanently dependent adult child;

  • All other close relatives of the primarily eligible person concur with the interment of the Veteran with the primarily eligible person by signing a notarized statement;

  • The Veteran’s spouse waives any entitlement to interment in Arlington National Cemetery, where such entitlement might be based on the Veteran’s interment in Arlington National Cemetery. The Executive Director may set aside the spouse’s waiver, provided space is available in the same gravesite, and all close relatives of the primarily eligible person concur; and

  • Any cost of moving, recasketing, or revaulting the remains will be paid from private funds.

  • The spouse, parents, adult brothers and sisters, adult natural children, adult stepchildren, and adult adopted children of a decedent.

Eligibility for Inurnment

Person must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Any of the eligibility requirements listed for burial.

  • Veteran served on active duty (other than active duty for training).

Crimes that revoke eligibility

Veterans who are convicted of certain crimes are made ineligible. This includes those who died before being sentencing or who fled sentencing. However, if the Veteran somehow gets commuted, they will regain their eligibility.

  • Federal or State capital crimes.

  • Crimes that lead to a person becoming a Title III sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and whose crime carried with it a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

Scheduling a Funeral

For information about scheduling a funeral click HERE.


Burial in National Cemeteries (VA or NCA Run)

Cemeteries run by the VA or the National Cemetery Administration.

Eligibility

  • Veteran’s character of discharge was NOT dishonorable.

Scheduling a Burial

Please click Here.

Crimes that revoke eligibility

Veterans who are convicted of certain crimes are made ineligible. This includes those who died before being sentencing or who fled sentencing. However, if the Veteran somehow gets commuted, they will regain their eligibility.

  • Federal or State capital crimes.

  • Crimes that lead to a person becoming a Title III sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and whose crime carried with it a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.


Burial at Sea

For information, call the U.S. Navy Mortuary Affairs office at 866-787-0081.

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.


Burial Flag

An American flag can be given to accompany the Veteran’s casket or urn.

Eligibility

  • Veteran’s character of discharge was NOT dishonorable.

Requesting a Burial Flag

Requestor must be next of kin, family member, or close friend of the Veteran.

For methods to request the burial flag click HERE.


Headstones, Markers and Medallions

Available at no cost.

Eligibility

  • Veteran’s character of discharge was NOT dishonorable.

For more information click HERE.


Presidential Memorial Certificates (PMC)

A fancy piece of paper signed by the current president.

Eligibility

  • Veteran’s character of discharge was NOT dishonorable.

Requesting a PMC

Requestor must be next of kin, family member, or close friend of the Veteran.

For methods to request the PMC click HERE.

NOTE:

  • If the Veteran is buried in a National Cemetery. A PMC will automatically be presented to the next of kin at the burial.

References

Return to Knowledge Base Index

About Once A Soldier: Starting in 2017, our mission is to limit the scars of Veteran suicide. We offer prevention services and postvention services. We reach a national audience and our goal is to become the preferred channel for those who want to help Veteran families who need our services. With 17 Veteran suicides a day in 2021, we believe our two niche services will make a difference to each family and to our nation.

Once A Soldier Funds First Ketamine-IV Drip Therapy

Once A Soldier Funds First Ketamine-IV Drip Therapy

 Finally, Effective Treatment for Suicidal Veterans & Their Families 

How long do PTSD Veterans and their families have to wait for psilocybin treatment to get going? While Congress idles with no answers, some Vets are going out of the country for this treatment. We can do better here at home and we are. Our answer to how long is “no longer.” Help is needed now as more and more Veterans are committing suicide at an alarming rate above the civilian average.

Putting our money where our hearts are, Once A Soldier is defraying the costs of a full six sessions of Ketamine IV drip treatments. James Simpson and his wife Jennifer are both combat Veterans. It is our intent for James to defeat his PTSD with this grant. We know he will.

 

ketamin iv drip

Ketamine Clinics Are Already Functional Around the Nation

The initial call from James’ wife Jennifer spurred Once A Soldier to monetize their prevention efforts with this first-ever grant. Treatment will be at the Virginia Beach Ketamine and Wellness starting in February 2022. Private, out-of-pocket clinics like this are all over the country, and we have partnered with two here in Jacksonville during our service time. We wish the Simpson family the best and will update James’ progress in this blog.

Once A Soldier has always been a resource for Veteran suicide prevention and information. Our mission started as – and still is – postvention, but we have grown to offer prevention help for both Veteran and family, pre and postvention. Note our scholarships for Equine-Assisted Therapy for Veterans and their families here in north Florida, as well as our Transcendental Meditation scholarships which has been granted around the country now that COVID-19 has changed. Despite the apparent dichotomy, we have also championed other free and drug-free mental health treatments.

We are first, but we are not alone.

Back in 2021, a collection of the largest Veteran service organizations implored Congress to fast track the journey towards adding psilocybin to prevent Veteran suicide. Across America, renowned institutions such as Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University run psychedelic research centers and medical groups. They see the future. With 20 Veteran suicides a day, and the reason they suicide, something advanced needs to be considered. And they are. Meanwhile, Once A Soldier has grant a modest amount to enable That is a big ask as some psilocybins currently sit in Category 1 with heroin. Ketamine is considered a Schedule 3 because it is so hard to make. However, r

There are US Veterans leaving the country to seek this type of medical treatment. Surely, we can find our way faster for their sake.

Virginia Beach Ketamine and Wellness owners

James Stephen Oleksa, MD Anesthesiology,Medical Director and Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, Virginia Beach, VA.

Virginia Beach Ketamine and Wellness owners

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Carolanne Garofalo and Tricia Lee are co-owners at Virginia Beach Ketamine and Wellness.

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.

Three Stories For Three Years Working At Once A Soldier

Three Stories For Three Years Working At Once A Soldier

Their Stories Deserve Greater Awareness

With Congress, the VA, and major veteran service organizations all working to stop soldier suicide, our voice from the other side of preventions (postvention) is not as easily heard. Time will change that, but for now, we seem to be all that veteran families have in their time of need. As such, we hear the unfiltered messages of need and pain wrapped in the stories about what happened and why. The more people that hear these these stories, the faster the next family will get help.

I’ll start with the most recent family. From the midwest, Missouri. Mark killed himself in his car. He had just paid it off. His sister Teresa called the next day. Mark’s body was in the medical examiner’s office in St. Louis. Teresa said, “I don’t know what to do next.” Her voice sounded much older than her picture on Venmo looked. Teresa was able to pullcall despite that fact that she was in the middle of a crying jag.

She was still crying and short of breath. Mark was 58 years old. Ex-Marine. PTSD and alcoholism played a part in his life for I don’t know how many years. When those two problems are there, they are there for everyone around him. He was living with his parents. Teresa described them as having lost their mental awareness. They were; however, able to call the police and get the postvention ball rolling. 

Mickey

Once A Soldier is the Nation’s Leading Time of Need Postvention Service Provider

Izzy ZaZa was living with her long-serving husband Robert in Arizona. He served in Afghanistan. He befriended a teenager who his unit hired as their interpreter in one village. His unit left and returned to find that teenaged boy hanging from a pole. Years later, Robert went into a bathroom at home to kill himself. Izzy followed him in and tried to stop him. She got shot through her left hand and fell back. Robert shot himself in the chest.

Finally, there’s Mickey Keeney. I have lots of pictures of him given to me by his sister. Two stick out in my mind. One is him pinning his son as he enters the Army. The other one, above, was taken two days before Mickey killed himself. He was completley alone in his PTSD pain and it shows. He killed himself on that same couch that he’s sitting on in the picture. His eyes as swollen as his face had become. Soon his pain would be over, and his families would move to a new level. 

With the promise of help from Representative Rutherford, we hope to bring these stories to life in the halls of Congress in 2021. Until then, we will continue to answer the calls and listen to their stories.

 

More Light Shed on Unaccounted Veteran Suicides

More Light Shed on Unaccounted Veteran Suicides

Research Collected By Operation Deep Dive Reveals Unaccounted Cases of Suicide

Operation Deep Dive (OpDD), is a community-based veteran suicide prevention study taking place in 14 states across the country. America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP) and researchers from the University of Alabama are leading this four-year study with a grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. Operation Deep Dive will conclude in December 2021. 

The bulk of the research involves AWP interviewing families and friends of Veteran suicide to better understand the lifestyle and habits of a Veteran in the last two years leading up to their death. If you or someone you know meets the requirement listed below, please contact:

Krystal Garcia

Program Associate

Email: kgarcia@americaswarriorpartnership.org

Call: 706-386-2431

Interviews Conducted In 14 States

The Real Picture of Veteran Suicide is Still Coming Into Focus

Early data has shown that some Veteran suicides are not being recorded. In Florida, state death certificates from 2014 to 2018 with DOD-verified service records reveals that 153 former service members who died by suicide were unaccounted in official records. This same comparison revealed 68 unaccounted cases of suicide in Minnesota during the same period. While comparisons from the remaining 12 states in the study are in progress, the analysis completed within these states is indicative of a more comprehensive gap under-representing the reality of veteran suicide.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

By participating in an Operation Deep Dive interview that aims to investigate the lives of veterans lost to suicide or a non-natural cause of death (overdose, asphyxiation, accidental gunshot, drowning, suicide by law enforcement, or high-speed, single-driver accident) within the last 24 months.

WHAT IS THE GOAL?

The goal is to examine how the deceased veteran was engaged within the community and how the community can better support our veterans in the future.

Your insight will contribute greatly to the formation of a proactive approach to preserving the life of service members and veterans!

PARTICIPANT REQUIREMENTS: 

Must be 18​ or older

A relative, loved one, friend, or co-worker to a deceased veteran who has died by suicide or from non-natural causes within the last 24 months

Located within one of the states listed below

Participant and veteran must have lived in the same community (metropolitan statistical area) prior to the veteran’s death

CONTACT OpDD

If you would like to get additional information about being a participant, please contact

Krystal Garcia

Program Associate

Email: kgarcia@americaswarriorpartnership.org

Call: 706-386-2431

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.