The Department of Veterans Affairs will provide a headstone or marker for an eligible veteran at no cost, and many families do not know it. The benefit covers the marker itself, shipped anywhere in the country. What it does not cover, in a private cemetery, is the setting of the stone. That is the part families most often have questions about, and the part we help with every week.

Our family has served Portage, Summit, and Stark Counties since 2004, and we have helped many veterans' families order and set government markers. None of what follows is legal advice, and eligibility rules can change, so always confirm the current details with the VA. But this is the plain-language version of how the process usually goes.

Who qualifies

The VA provides a marker for veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. That includes most who served in active duty, and in many cases members of the Reserves and National Guard who meet service requirements. Spouses and dependent children may also be eligible for a marker in a national or state veterans cemetery.

The simplest way to confirm eligibility is to have the veteran's discharge papers (the DD Form 214) in hand. That document tells the VA what it needs to know, and it is the single most useful thing to locate before you start.

A black granite veterans memorial on a rough gray base, carrying the seals of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard above the words Dedicated To All Veterans, WW I, 1917-1918. — A community memorial to the veterans of the First World War, carrying the seals of all five branches. Work like this sits outside anything the VA provides for an individual grave.

What the VA actually provides

The benefit is the marker, free of charge. You choose from a set of standard options rather than a custom design:

An upright headstone in marble or granite, for graves that allow an upright monument.
A flat marker in marble, granite, or bronze, for cemeteries that require a flush marker.
A bronze niche marker, for cremated remains placed in a columbarium.
A bronze medallion that attaches to a headstone the family has already bought privately, rather than a second full marker. This option is available for veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990.

Each option carries the veteran's name, branch of service, dates, and an optional emblem of belief. The VA inscribes the standard information at no charge.

A bronze marker on a granite base giving a private first class's name, branch and war, with a cross emblem, a flower vase, planted flowers and a small American flag. — Rank, branch and war, cut into bronze. The marker is the part the VA supplies; the base it sits on and the labor to set it are not.

The form to file

The claim is made on VA Form 40-1330, the Claim for Standard Government Headstone or Marker. The medallion has its own version of the form. You submit it to the VA along with a copy of the discharge papers.

For a grave in a private cemetery, the form also asks for the cemetery's information and usually a signature from the cemetery confirming it will accept and place the marker. This is one of the places where a local monument company can save a grieving family a great deal of back and forth, because we handle that coordination routinely.

Who sets the marker

This is the part that surprises people. In a national or state veterans cemetery, the cemetery places the marker for you at no charge. In a private cemetery, the VA ships the marker free, but it does not pay to install it. Setting the stone, preparing the foundation, and meeting the cemetery's regulations is the family's responsibility, and that is the work a monument company does.

So the marker is free, and the setting is not. The cost of setting a government marker is usually modest compared to a full custom monument, and we are glad to quote it plainly before any work begins.

The back of a dark granite monument for a US Army corporal, listing the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Operation Iraqi Freedom in gold lettering, with a column of service medals etched alongside. — The back of a private monument for a corporal who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with the decorations named and the medals themselves etched alongside. None of this is available on a government marker.

How we help

For veterans' families, we can:

Confirm which marker type the cemetery allows.
Help complete and file VA Form 40-1330 and gather the discharge paperwork.
Coordinate the cemetery's acceptance and placement requirements.
Build the foundation and set the marker once it arrives.

Some families want to honor a veteran with more than the standard government marker, a custom upright monument with the government emblem, or a private headstone paired with the free bronze medallion. Either way, the veteran's service can be recognized, and the VA benefit is yours to use. Whichever route you take, allow time for it: a government marker still has to be ordered, shipped, and set on a foundation, and our guide to how long a headstone takes explains what usually decides that schedule.

If you are arranging a memorial for a veteran and want help with the VA marker, the paperwork, or the setting, reach out to us or visit our showroom on S. Prospect Street in Ravenna. We will explain your options plainly and handle the parts that are hard to do alone.