Memorial Affairs

Harold William Lindsey joined the Navy from Waxahachie, a small town just south of Dallas, Texas. Originally from California, fate would place him on the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor. Navy Seaman 2nd Class Lindsey was one of the battleship’s 429 crewmembers killed in the attack. Almost 80 years later, the North Texas sailor finally returned to his family and friends. 

Victor Vasquez, the director of two National Cemeteries got his start in VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program. Read his story.

More than 120 Army trainees spent a day recently volunteering their time by cleaning the grounds at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, OK.

VA can help you and your survivors prepare for the future. Read on to see how VA’s burial and memorial benefits can honor your legacy.

Volunteers from across the U.S. gathered in 65 VA national cemeteries for a National Day of Service Sept. 10. The cleaning efforts included thousands of volunteers cleaning tens of thousands of graves, including 47 killed Sept. 11, 2001.

In Puerto Rico, it is rare for a burial to be a lonely affair. Family ties run deep, and families of the deceased will gather from near and far for wakes and to accompany their loved one to their final resting place. So it was on July 12 at Morovis National Cemetery, when the first two of what will be tens of thousands of future Veteran interments took place under the warm Puerto Rican sun.

The re-launch of the Veterans Legacy Memorial before Memorial Day weekend saw more than 4,000 tributes, images, biographies, milestones, and documents posted to Veterans' pages.

The Vietnam War was the nation’s longest and costliest conflict of the Cold War. Over 8.7 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era from 1964 to 1973 (1). More than 3.4 million deployed to Southeast Asia (1) and approximately 2.7 million of those served in the Republic of Vietnam (2). On this Memorial Day 2021, VA honors their service and recommits itself to supporting all Veterans of the Vietnam era, their families and their caregivers.

21 newly bereaved survivors come to TAPS each day for resources and care. The need is great and growing. In 2020 and thus far in 2021, the families of those service members and Veterans who have died by suicide or illness, as a result of exposures to toxins while serving overseas, represent the largest population of new survivors turning to TAPS for resources and care.  

Remembering the fallen means honoring the nation’s unfinished work, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia May 28.

VA's National Cemetery Administration (NCA) last week announced it would lift all restrictions on gathering sizes at committal and memorial services in VA national cemeteries starting on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

The Veterans Legacy Memorial, our nation’s first digital platform dedicated entirely to more than 3.7 million Veterans interred in VA’s national cemeteries, provides a memorial page dedicated to preserving their legacy.