For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
VA offering free flu
shots to registered veteransQuestion: Is the Department of Veterans Affairs providing flu shots for registered veterans again this year?
Answer: Yes. The VA will give flu shots at no charge to registered veterans. Flu shots will be available from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 22 , and from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 27, Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. Veterans must be registered with the VA to obtain a flu shot and should bring their VA universal access card with them. Unfortunately, by law the VA can only provide a flu shot to the veteran. For more information on flu shots, call the VA at 433-0600.
Q: I have been trying to locate a relative that I believe to have been buried in a national cemetery. Is there a way to find out?
A: The VA can provide limited burial location assistance to family members and close friends of decedents thought to be buried in a VA national cemetery only. Records do not contain any personal, military or family information on the decedents. You will only be told if the individual is buried in a VA national cemetery and where. They cannot search for large groups on the basis of surname, military unit, war period or place of residence. A request can include up to a maximum of 10 specific names.
No form is required to request this information, and no fee is charged. When requesting a burial location search, please provide the following information on each individual: Full name, including any alternate spellings, date and place of birth, date and place of death, state from which the individual entered active duty and military service branch. Most requests take approximately four weeks for a reply. Be sure to include your return mailing address, phone number or e-mail address with your request and send it to: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration (402B), Burial Location Request, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20420.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
