Planning a Veteran's Funeral: A Look at Options
Losing a loved one is never an easy thing. You will be faced with a lot of decisions that need to be made for the funeral and burial. If your loved one was a veteran, your plight could be a little easier to handle. The United States does a good job of recognizing those who have served in certain branches of the military, so you will usually have some options from the Department of Veteran's Affairs to help you plan a well-deserved memorial. Take a look at some of the options you will have when planning a veteran's funeral.
You will have the option of choosing between a national or state veteran's cemetery.
One of the advantages of working with the Department of Veteran's Affairs is that you will have the option of having your loved one buried in either a national or state veteran's cemetery. In order to get approved for burial in these cemeteries, you will have to get your loved one's honorable discharge papers from whatever branch of the military they served. You are not obligated to have your loved one buried in these cemeteries, and you can always choose your own private grave site or even cremation if you prefer.
You will have the option of choosing between a burial flag or a Presidential Memorial Certificate.
A burial flag is a flag that is draped over the casket at the memorial event. Not all service member families choose to have a burial flag, but many of them do. If you decide you want a flag draped across the casket, the flag will be folded and given to you for safe keeping once the memorial service has concluded. If you have chosen cremation instead of traditional burial, you may still choose to receive a flag to commemorate your loved one's service. In addition to a burial flag, you can also get a Presidential Memorial Certificate to commemorate your loved one's service. This is a framed certificate signed by the current President of the United States showing gratitude for your loved one's time in the armed forces.
You will have the option to include military honors presentations at the funeral.
One of the ways veterans are memorialized is through special services offered by the armed forces at their funeral. For example, a bugle call known as "Taps" and flag-folding ceremonies are commonly part of the ceremony if that is something the family member would like to be done.
For more information, talk with a local funeral home director. They often offer veterans funeral packages and can discuss options for military honors you would like presented at the funeral or graveside service.
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