VA Plan to Issue Urns, Memorial Plaques Sparks Concerns Veterans Will Be Barred from Burial with Spouses

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to start issuing urns and commemorative plaques to the families of deceased veterans this year, but the move has drawn criticism that it could block those veterans from being buried with their spouses, among other concerns.

The National Funeral Directors Association and the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as others, recently submitted public comments objecting to the VA's proposed rule change, which was published for public comment before being implemented.

They took issue with one provision of the new rule in particular, which says that once a family member opts to receive the urn or plaque on a deceased veteran's behalf, that veteran's remains may not be interred in a national cemetery. Also, the VA won't provide any other type of marker for that veteran to be buried in any cemetery.