Honoring Veterans
We're proud to do our part in honoring our country's veterans. Our duty is to provide you and your family with professional and dignified assistance during your time of need, and we promise to support you in honoring your loved one for their dedication and selfless service.
Eligibility
Military funeral honors are free of charge and mandated by law for eligible veterans. Eligibility will be verified by the veteran’s DD-214, or discharge papers. Eligible members include:
- Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
- Former military members who served on active duty and departed under honorable conditions.
- Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under honorable conditions.
- Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Traditional Honors
At minimum, eligible veterans are entitled to the folding and presenting of the American flag to the next of kin and the playing of Taps by a bugler or recording. These honors are performed by an honor guard detail that consists of at least two members of the Armed Forces. One member must be a representative from the branch in which the veteran served, and this member will be the individual who presents the flag.
Honors also can include:
- A three-volley rifle salute to represent duty, honor, and country
- The U.S. flag draped over the casket
- A final salute at the gravesite
Veteran Benefits
In addition to coordinating honors related to the service itself, we can help you communicate with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to arrange for:
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate: This is a certificate expressing the nation's recognition of the veteran's service. The veteran's name is inscribed, and the certificate bears the signature of the President.
- Headstones or markers: The VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state, or military cemeteries.
- Memorial plots: If an eligible veteran's remains are not available for burial, the VA will provide a plot and headstone or marker in a national cemetery for memorialization. If you wish to place the memorial in a cemetery other than a national cemetery, the VA will provide the headstone or marker but not the plot itself.
- Burial in a VA national cemetery: This includes the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a grave box, and perpetual care.
- Burial in the North Dakota State Veteran Cemetery, rural Mandan, ND. Burial Costs, There is no cost to the Veteran or eligible spouse and dependent for burial. This includes the burial plot, opening and closing of the gravesite and the headstone. Caskets, urns and vaults must be purchased through a funeral home of your choice at the families’ expense. Lot determination is normally the next one available in the area currently being utilized. As in National Cemeteries, only one plot would be used for the veteran, spouse and/or eligible dependent. The first vault would be placed at a depth sufficient to accommodate additional vaults. A basic grave liner is required, but can be up graded to a vault through the funeral homes. The grave liner or vaults are purchased thorough the funeral home, they are not provided by the cemetery. There is no vault requirement for cremated remains. However, They will accommodate an urn vault if you so choose to use one.
- To contact them go to North Dakota National Guard website. The website will have all the information on the cemetery. We will help you with the burial there.
- Reimbursement of burial expenses: For information on eligibility and the different levels of potential reimbursement, please review their Guide to VA Burial Allowances.
Additional Resources
Please visit the following links for detailed information about the options available for honoring service members and other aspects of military funerals:
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Click on Veteran Services and look underneath the Burials & Memorials heading.
- Veterans' Funeral and Burial Benefits. Helpful information from the Funeral Consumers Alliance.
