June 29th, 2011, 04:20 PM
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#16 |
| Rifleman
Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Eads TN
Posts: 74
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There is no financial death benefit for veterans like SGLI or Death Gratuity. If this gentleman opted to carry VSGLI as a private policy, he would be covered under that.
Most funeral directors know how to handle funeral honors, but if they don't a call to any of the service's parent casualty office will get you to where you need to go. The Navy handles funeral honors on a regional basis, but the guys at OPNAV know the numbers.
The funeral director should also be able to order the headstone through the VA as long as you have a copy of his DD-214. This is the most important document for all vets, so hopefully he knows where it is. They can take a few days to produce, and it's not something you want to wait on while waiting for burial. It has already been mentioned here, but as long as the discharge was honorable he and his spouse are entitled to burial in the national cemetery. The spouse should make her intentions known at the time so they can get the casket set to the proper depth. Spouses are buried on the same plot, with one casket on top of the other.
I get the gripes about the VA, Lord knows I am not looking forward to dealing with them in the future. Agent Orange was a bad deal for all that got it, but the claims are seen as a golden ticket and are very often fraudulent. The doctors at the VA are stuck between wanting to help people who have served our country with legitimate heath problems, but illegitimate claims as to the cause. I'm glad that I don't have to make the calls that they do.
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