Visiting & family resources

Practical guides, each citing the official source it relies on.

Guides

How to find where a veteran is buried
Which official locator to use, what each one covers, and what to try when a search returns nothing.
National and state veterans cemeteries: what is different
Who runs each kind of cemetery, how eligibility and cost can differ, and where Arlington and overseas cemeteries fit.
Planning a visit to a veterans cemetery
What to confirm before you travel, how to find a grave once you arrive, and how to conduct yourself on the grounds.
Understanding burial eligibility in a national cemetery
A plain-language overview of who may be buried in a VA national cemetery, with links to the VA’s current official guidance.
Where to find official military burial records
The agencies that hold burial and service records, what each can tell you, and how to ask.
Coins on headstones: the custom, and what the rules say
What a penny, nickel, dime or quarter on a veteran’s headstone is said to mean, what is actually documented, and how to pay respects within cemetery rules.

These are government websites. A link is a reference, not an endorsement of this site by any agency.