Burial at Ft. Sam Houston with military honors?

1,481 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by CanyonAg77
Bird Poo
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My father passed away in February and was subsequently cremated. He served and fought in Vietnam, with a total of 14 years on active duty Air Force (Vietnam) and Army reserves. He earned the rank of Staff Sergeant and was honorably discharged.

He told my mother that he wanted to be buried with military honors at Ft. Sam. My mother submitted an application for that and it was subsequently denied. Granted, she's not very good at paperwork and the like in her old age, so I'm helping out to understand the requirements and whether this is even a possibility.

Is this honor designated for only active duty or disabled veterans?
JABQ04
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Try looking here. I don't know anything about it, but this seems like a good start.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftsamhouston.asp#elig
OldArmyCT
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Have his DD-214 in hand and call this number.

If all is kosher they'll give you a window of dates & times, you pick one and show up. The color guard will be there and. point person will meet you and tell you what to do. They are very schedule oriented and don't mind one bit cancelling your service if you're late. They'll put dad in his columbarium and seal it, a few weeks later they'll put his permanent plaque in place and you're done. They're also particular about what you put on the plaque, I.e. if his name is George Alfred and he hated George and used only Alfred you still have to put either the George or the G Alfred on it. If he went by Fred that's not going on the plaque except in the remarks where you put things like We Loved Fred.
It's actually pretty simple and these folks do this daily, don't argue with them.
Bird Poo
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
OldArmyCT said:

Have his DD-214 in hand and call this number.

If all is kosher they'll give you a window of dates & times, you pick one and show up. The color guard will be there and. point person will meet you and tell you what to do. They are very schedule oriented and don't mind one bit cancelling your service if you're late. They'll put dad in his columbarium and seal it, a few weeks later they'll put his permanent plaque in place and you're done. They're also particular about what you put on the plaque, I.e. if his name is George Alfred and he hated George and used only Alfred you still have to put either the George or the G Alfred on it. If he went by Fred that's not going on the plaque except in the remarks where you put things like We Loved Fred.
It's actually pretty simple and these folks do this daily, don't argue with them.
Thank you very much for this. My mother was calling random VA numbers provided by friends, so she didn't get anywhere. Was able to schedule a ceremony with military honors soon after this post.
CanyonAg77
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Appreciate the update.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.