Medina County Veteran Services - Burial & Cemetery Info.

THE UNITED STATES FLAG is furnished by the Veterans Administration to drape the casket of any wartime veteran, or any veteran who served after 1/31/55, or who was discharged due to service connected disability. There also is a Presidential Memorial that your funeral director will help you secure for the family.

BURIAL AT NATIONAL CEMETERY is available to any deceased eligible veteran and to an eligible veteran's spouse, minor children, and under certain conditions, to unmarried adult children. Application can only be made after time of death to the Director of the National Cemetery desired. Ordinarily this is done by the attending funeral director.

CEMETERY FLAG HOLDERS are furnished to mark the graves of all honorably discharged veterans buried in Medina County. The Medina County Veterans Service Office supplies these bronze markers and the flags for them free of charge. They can be obtained from our office.

PLOT ALLOWANCE & BURIAL EXPENSE ALLOWANCE is available to veterans who at the time of their death were in receipt of either pension or compensation from the VA. Eligibility is also established if the veteran died at a VA facility or VA contracted nursing home. The plot allowance of $300 can go towards offsetting the purchase cost or opening fees for a plot. The VA will pay up to $300 towards the cost of burial for eligible veterans.

If the veterans' death is service connected, up to $2,000 is awarded as a burial allowance. This payment is in lieu of the $300 mentioned above.

The VA can pay transportation to the nearest national cemetery having space available for deceased, service connected veterans.

HEADSTONES or MARKERS are available free of charge, from the VA, for all veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable.

Types of Headstones/Markers Available:

Upright Headstone: Lightly veined American white marble

Flat Stone Marker: Lightly veined American white marble or light gray granite

Flat Bronze Marker: Flat brown background with bronze highlighted lettering and border (most popular)

Special Upright Stones: For the graves of Civil or Spanish war veterans

Bronze Niche Markers: For cremated remains

Setting VA Markers: This is the responsibility of the deceased veterans' family. Cost will vary with each cemetery.

Inscription Information: The following are mandatory: name, branch, year of birth and death.

Optional items: War service, religious emblems, valor awards and Purple Heart. These inscriptions are free of charge.

Additional Items: Items such as nicknames, terms of endearment, accomplishments, etc., are no longer available.

Reserved Space: No more than two lines of space may be reserved for future inscriptions, such as spouse's name.

The VA no longer reimburses money for the purchasing of a private headstone or marker. Please check with your cemetery officials before you order a headstone or marker.

Rules vary from cemetery to cemetery and the VA will not replace a marker that you improperly order.