Veterans Burial Benefits

Benefits earned decades ago are still there. They are not automatic, though — somebody has to apply for them.

This page covers what veterans’ families in Grant County ask about most often. Eligibility is determined by the VA and the rules change from time to time, so va.gov is the authority. What we can tell you is that we will sit down and file the applications with you.

See also our Veterans Honors page, or call (575) 342-1005.

Fort Bayard National Cemetery, at 200 Camino de Paz, Fort Bayard, NM 88036, is the closest national cemetery to Silver City. It has space available for both casketed and cremated remains, and it is administered by Santa Fe National Cemetery.

Furnished at no cost to the family:

• The gravesite
• Opening and closing of the grave
• A government headstone or marker
• Perpetual care of the grave

Eligible spouses and dependent children may be buried in the same gravesite, even if they die before the veteran. Transportation of the remains to the cemetery, and funeral home charges, are not covered. Scheduling runs through the VA’s National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117 — we make that call on your family’s behalf.

If burial is somewhere other than a national cemetery — Memory Lane Cemetery here in Silver City, a parish cemetery, a family plot — the VA may still furnish a headstone or marker at no charge for an eligible veteran, or a bronze medallion that can be fixed to a privately purchased stone to mark the grave as a veteran’s.

The inscription includes name, branch of service, and dates. Where the family wishes, it can also carry rank, awards, war service, and an emblem of belief chosen from the VA’s approved list.

We complete the application and coordinate the setting with the cemetery, so that it does not become one more thing on your family’s list months from now.

Benefits families often do not know to ask for:

• A United States burial flag, furnished for an eligible veteran and presented to the next of kin
• A Presidential Memorial Certificate, signed by the President; more than one may be requested for family members
• Burial and plot allowances, paid in certain service-connected and non-service-connected cases, generally claimed after the funeral
• Survivor benefits such as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or Survivors Pension, which may be available to a surviving spouse or dependent children

New Mexico also operates state veterans cemeteries at Fort Stanton, Angel Fire, Gallup, and Taos, with a fifth planned for Carlsbad.

Everything starts with the DD Form 214. If you cannot find it, tell us — a copy can be requested from the National Archives, and we will help you start that request.