Simply Cremation
Arranging a Military Funeral
It is a straightforward procedure to arrange a military funeral for your loved one at a Glendale, AZ funeral home. When you choose to have a military funeral, you have two burial options available.
First, you can choose to have your loved one buried in a national cemetery, a National Park Service cemetery, or a state veterans cemetery. The funeral director will handle most of the arrangements and the government will pay the majority of the associated costs. To get the process started, you’ll need a copy – not the original, because it will not be returned to you – of your loved one’s DD-214 (military separation papers).
The second burial option in a military funeral is burial in a private cemetery. If you choose this type of burial, the funeral director will help you get the proper military arrangements (21-gun salute, presentation of the flag, etc.), but you will have to request reimbursement for all associated costs. You will also need a copy of your loved one’s DD-214 to have this type of military funeral burial.
To obtain reimbursement for private military funeral burial, the family must apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs with VA Form 21-530 (Application for Burial Benefits). You can download VA Form 21-530 from https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21P-530-ARE.pdf. You will need to attach a copy of your loved one’s DD-214, your loved one’s death certificate, all funeral and/or burial bills (these bills should indicate that they have been paid in full).
For non-service-related burial expenses or plot allowance, the family has two years from the permanent burial date to file their reimbursement claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs. There are no time restrictions for filing a reimbursement claim for service-related deaths.
If you would like to have military funeral honors at your loved one’s funeral, the funeral director will contact the local honor guard for the appropriate branch of service to make arrangements for this service.
Military markers or headstones are included in a military funeral service when your loved one is buried in a national cemetery, National Park cemetery, or state veterans cemetery. You will provide your loved one’s information to the cemetery officials and they will do the inscription for the marker or headstone.
If the military funeral burial is in a private cemetery, the funeral director make all the arrangements for the military marker or headstone. You will need to make sure that the funeral director has a copy of your loved one’s DD-214.
A burial flag is traditional in military funeral burials. The funeral director will arrange for the burial flag, using a copy of your loved one’s DD-214. If the honor guard is present, they will typically fold the flag and present it to a family member just prior to burial.
You can get more information about how to arrange a military funeral by talking with one of our compassionate and knowledgeable Glendale, AZ funeral home staff members at Simply Cremation & Funeral Arrangements. Our funeral home location is at 16952 W. Bell Rd., #303, Surprise, AZ, 85374. Call us today at (623) 975-9393. We have 24/7 immediate assistance available to help you.
Thanks for informing me that I can choose to bury my veteran grandfather in our state veterans’ cemetery, and the government will pay the majority of the associated costs. I would only have to present a copy of his DD 214 form to the funeral director, and they’ll take care of all the necessary arrangements. My granddad was a war veteran who fought in the Vietnam War. I’ll share this information with my mom, so we can look start looking for a DD 214 form assistance service who can help us secure a copy of the form as soon as possible.