National Cemetery Administration
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) is a division of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs responsible for honoring our nation’s veterans with final resting places that reflect the dignity of their service. Originally established in 1862 as part of the U.S. Army to care for Union soldiers who died in the Civil War, it became part of the VA in 1973 and has since expanded its mission to include veterans of all U.S. conflicts.
Today, the NCA maintains more than 155 national cemeteries across the country and provides critical support to veterans' families—including headstones, markers, burial flags, and Presidential Memorial Certificates. The NCA also supports community and tribal cemeteries through grants and guidance, ensuring veterans are honored with lasting recognition wherever they rest.
Veterans Legacy Memorial: Honoring Every Veteran
The Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) is an online platform created by the National Cemetery Administration to honor U.S. veterans with lasting digital tributes. While it began with veterans buried in VA national cemeteries, it now includes many buried in community, state, and private cemeteries—especially those who received a government-issued grave marker or medallion.
However, the VLM is still a work in progress. Veterans with older or privately marked graves may not be included, as the VA only began systematically recording these burials in the mid-1990s. The NCA is working to expand the database, but without public help, many veterans’ resting places may remain unknown.
Families and volunteers can play a vital role by helping identify veterans in local cemeteries and, where appropriate, applying for a VA marker or medallion (VA Form 40‑1330M), which also helps ensure they are added to the VLM.
To learn more, explore the NCA’s official website at www.cem.va.gov, and visit the VLM at www.va.gov/remember.
With only a third of all Veterans and their families taking advantage of the VA burial and memorial benefits they have earned, many remain unaware of the no-cost benefits available to them and their survivors. As a result, families are often left to make important decisions during a time of grief without the information needed to fully honor their loved one's service or avoid unnecessary expenses.
Will, estate, and financial planning play a vital role in helping Veterans incorporate burial and memorial planning into their overall end-of-life strategy. By discussing VA burial benefits as part of the planning process, advisors can help Veterans document their wishes, organize important records such as the DD Form 214, and ensure family members understand the benefits available to them when the time comes.
Including VA burial and memorial benefits in estate planning provides clarity, reduces stress on surviving family members, and helps prevent costly decisions that could have been avoided through advance planning. Most importantly, it ensures that Veterans receive the recognition and honors they earned through their service to our nation.
Honoring Our Veterans & Their Final Tribute
To assist communities with veterans buried in local and non-federal cemeteries, the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) developed a comprehensive preservation and maintenance “Toolkit” designed for families, cemetery associations, municipalities, churches, nonprofits, and community volunteers. The guide outlines proper cleaning methods, preservation standards, and best practices for the care of government-issued headstones and grave markers while also providing information on organizations and resources that may be able to assist with cemetery preservation efforts.
While federal law prohibits the NCA from directly funding or maintaining private and community cemeteries, the agency recognizes the importance of preserving veterans’ gravesites outside the national cemetery system. Through education, guidance, and outreach, the NCA helps communities understand how to properly care for these markers so they continue to serve as lasting tributes to those who served our nation.
A government-issued veteran grave marker is far more than a headstone. It serves as the nation’s “Final Tribute” to the men and women who answered the call to serve in the United States Armed Forces. These markers are issued by the federal government on behalf of the American people to permanently recognize a veteran’s service, sacrifice, and legacy. Whether located in a national cemetery, a rural church cemetery, or a small community burial ground, each marker represents a promise that the veteran’s service will never be forgotten.
Unfortunately, misinformation over the years has led many people to believe that the responsibility for maintaining these markers belongs solely to surviving family members. In reality, organizations such as the National Park Service and numerous preservation groups have long emphasized that honoring and preserving veterans’ graves is a shared civic responsibility. Veterans do not always have family members able to care for their gravesites. Over time, loved ones may relocate, pass away, become physically unable to maintain the site, or face financial hardships that prevent ongoing upkeep.
We should never expect an elderly widow, surviving spouse, or aging family member to carry the burden of preserving a veteran’s legacy alone after already sacrificing so much in support of their loved one’s service to our country. They have given enough. As Americans and members of our local communities, we all share a responsibility to help ensure these graves, markers, and memorials remain clean, respected, and properly maintained for future generations.
Community cemeteries across the country contain the graves of veterans from every conflict in American history, many resting in forgotten or underserved burial grounds with little long-term support. Without community involvement, these markers can become damaged, overgrown, sunken, unreadable, or permanently lost to time. Preserving them is not simply about cemetery maintenance; it is about protecting history, honoring sacrifice, and ensuring future generations understand the cost of the freedoms we enjoy today.
We encourage families, cemetery associations, municipalities, churches, civic organizations, and volunteers to utilize the NCA Toolkit and work together to ensure veteran grave markers continue to receive the dignity, care, and recognition they deserve. Even small acts of service — cleaning a marker, raising a flag, documenting a gravesite, or volunteering at a local cemetery — help preserve the legacy of America’s veterans and ensure their service is never forgotten.