For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
|
With 4 known WWI veterans left, VA seeks word of more
Question: How many World War I veterans are left?
Answer: With the number of known living American veterans of World War I now standing at four, the VA is seeking public assistance in determining whether others are still alive. The VA usually learns the identity and location of veterans only after they come to the department for benefits.
World War I veterans are those who were on active duty between April 6, 1917, and Nov. 11, 1918. Information can be e-mailed to we1@va.gov; faxed to (202) 273-6702, or mailed to the Office of Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW; Washington, DC 20420.
Q: My husband's ashes have been scattered at sea. Does the VA provide a marker so that there is a remembrance of him?
A: To memorialize a veteran whose remains are not available for burial, VA will provide a memorial headstone or marker. It will be the same as that used to identify a grave, except that the phase "In Memory of" precedes the inscription.
The headstone or marker is available to memorialize eligible veterans or deceased service members whose remains were not recovered or identified, buried at sea, donated to science or cremated and scattered.
VA will supply the marker and pay the cost of shipping, but does not pay for the plot or the placement of the headstone or marker in a state, local or private cemetery.
For further information, contact the VA at (800) 827-1000. You can also bring a copy of your husband's discharge certificate (DD 214) and copy of his death certificate to the VA's E-Wing, Diamond Head side of Tripler Army Medical Center, and ask to talk to a benefits counselor.
More information is available on the VA's Web site, www.va.gov/hawaii.
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.