How to Arrange for Military Funeral Honors

The men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms deserve the thanks of a grateful nation. Among the ways our country shows its appreciation for these sacrifices is by providing burial and memorial benefits to current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. This includes military funeral honors for every eligible veteran, at the family’s request. This article explains who is eligible to receive military funeral honors, and how you can arrange for these ceremonies at the funeral or burial of a deceased military veteran.

Who is Eligible?

The U.S. Department of Defense oversees and administrates the military funeral honors program, which provides dignified recognition of the service and sacrifice made by a deceased military veteran — whether on active service or honorably discharged — after he or she dies. These ceremonies are provided at no cost to the family on behalf of a grateful nation.

In general, anyone who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and died either during active duty or after he or she was honorably discharged is eligible for military funeral honors. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, families may request military funeral honors for the following deceased loved ones:

• Military members who died while on active duty or in the Selected Reserve

• Former military members who served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve and were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions

• Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions

In addition, the U.S. federal government has authorized military funeral honors for certain other military and civilian groups, such as the American Merchant Marines during World War II, and members of the National Guard. For more information about a veteran’s eligibility for military funeral honors, please visit the DOD’s “Military Funeral Honors” website. (This website, incidentally, offers a wealth of information about military funeral honors and is worth reviewing, even if you are working with a funeral director or cemetery staff.)

How to Arrange for Military Funeral Honors

The primary step, and the most important, is for the immediate family, next-of-kin or whoever is arranging the funeral and/or burial service to inform the funeral director and/or cemetery personnel that the deceased served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge or died during active military service.

It bears repeating that families must specifically request military funeral honors for a loved one and should not assume that funeral and/or cemetery personnel will take care of arranging these services simply because the deceased’s military service was noted during the arrangement conference or included in the obituary information you provided. Unfortunately, even funeral directors and cemetery staff might remain unaware of the honors to which service members are entitled, or not realize that the federal government has granted these ceremonies to members of certain other military and civilian groups, as noted above.

Once you have informed the funeral director or cemetery staff, he or she should contact the appropriate branch of military service to request military funeral honors for your loved one. Generally, arranging for these services requires at least 48 hours.

How to Personally Arrange for Military Funeral Honors

In some cases, you and your family might not work with a funeral director or cemetery counselor but still wish to arrange for military funeral honors. This might occur, for example, when a family already possesses the cremated remains of a loved one and later desires burial of the remains in a cemetery, whether privately operated or within one of the state/national veterans cemeteries maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration.

In these cases, you should access the Department of Defense “Military Funeral Honors Directory,” enter the state where the interment will take place, and then call the telephone number for the appropriate branch of service.

Finally, the local post of a veterans service organization, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, should also be able to help you contact the appropriate personnel to help you arrange for military funeral honors for a loved one.

Sources:
“Military Funeral Honors: Eligibility.” U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved January 1, 2017. https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/mfh/getLinks.do?tab=Eligible

“Recognized Groups Under Public Law 95-202.” U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved January 1, 2017. https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/mfh/docs/Recognized_Groups_Under_Public_Law_95_202.pdf