The Veterans Legacy Memorial, the country’s first digital platform dedicated entirely to memory preservation for the 3.7 million Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries, launched Aug. 14.
Each Veteran will have their own memorial page on the VLM, a secure, web-based platform that creates a perpetual memorial extending beyond the physical border of the national cemetery.
“Veterans Legacy Memorial ensures ‘no Veteran ever dies’ by honoring the legacy of our nation’s Veterans, not just in our cemeteries, but in a new and innovative digital setting,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “It enhances the onsite national cemetery experience and extends the experience to those who otherwise are unable to physically visit the cemetery.”
NCA, in conjunction with VA’s Office of Information & Technology, built the architecture for the site starting with the information contained on every Veteran’s headstone.
In the initial rollout, the public will be able to search the site for Veterans, find out where they are buried and read the basic details of their lives and service. Future capabilities may be expanded to allow families, survivors, fellow Veterans and others to add historic photos and share memories to a deceased Veteran’s memorial page. Such capabilities will include provisions that allows NCA to manage the site in a manner that maintains the same level of decorum our customers experience in our national cemeteries.
For more information about the Veterans Legacy Memorial, visit https://www.va.gov/remember. Have questions about Veterans Legacy Memorial? Find what you’re looking for at VLM FAQ.
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While many are buried with military honors they are not buried at “Veteran Cemeteries” rather local or family cemeteries and therefore they are not included on this site. For those interested you may visit a partial listing of veterans on sites such as arkansasgravestones.org or find-a-grave. Arkansas Gravestones is partial meaning only if someone has provided a monument photo. I volunteer with them and have uploaded many photos. Even the VA site https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ is not complete only listing those who have markers. I appreciate this effort but instead of making a new site expand the site you have.
This is a wonderful concept but it needs to be expanded to include Arlington.
Hi. I love this idea and have a father, mother, and brother, a father in law, and more buried at Arlington National Cemetery but I couldn’t find Arlington in your list…
My little brother, Bobby Dwain Harris, born May 2, 1948, passed away October 23, 2018from affects of agent orange. Some of his closest brothers were (are forever) Corpsmen. Bobby was radioman, 2nd Battalion -1st Marines—The Ghost Battalion. He made a conscious decision to do for others for the rest of his life, as he was still serving in Vietnam. And he did. We do not yet have his ashes back, as he donated his body to science. When we receive them, we will have a service for him with full military honors. The service will be in Corpus Christi, Texas’ Veterans’ Cemetery. Our dad veteran of US
Army, WW2, will also be memorialized.
We have an uncle Bob H. Lovely, who served as tailgunner on a B-24,during WW2, in Europe, with the then Army Air Force. He was lost over France, when his plane was hit. He is buried in France.
I feel that the men and women who lost their lives during or after combat, no MATTER where they are buried should be included and honored equally as those intured in country, in Veteran cemeteries.
What about the NYARNG 9/11 First Responders who have died from contamination at ground zero? As our nation ran from the billowing contamination our soldiers rushed in not knowing what they would face, or whether they would see their families again. They are not given veteran status because their cancers took years to metastasize vs. the requirements of days to make a claim. Who will honor our deceased New York Army National Guard? Who will stand up for these soldiers? The time period to make a claim needs to be extended. Soldiers should not die due to their honorable service without honor and respect.
Some soldiers refuse to get screened for 9/11 cancers and illnesses because they feel if there is a problem the government or the VA will contact them. In 2002, the soldiers were told their health was being monitored. Soldiers have died not knowing their cancers were due to 9/11 contaminations. No one from the government, VA, or Department of Defense has notified them. Some soldiers do not believe that there has been an institutional betrayal and they wait for that phone call or certified letter. Prove them right. #notifythe living #countourdead #NYARNG #9/11 #heroes
I think dates of service should be included in profile.
I filled it out. What did you do with it?
What about AF whose bodies were never recovered. My bro-in-law was a B-29 fight engineer whose plane didn’t return from a raid over Tokyo in January 1945.
I know most people don’t like negative but NONE of my blood kin have anything to do with me and the family I’m married into could care less about my military service, most dont even know that I served in the Army & Navy, they know I was in the Navy because I wear a navy hat & the VA in Oregon treat us like we are just a pain in the kester, in fact I dont even trust most of the dr. So if no one cares while I’m alive my headstone will grow moss and some stranger mite place a flag there on Memorial day from time to time.
I’m sorry but I see this as just another way the government spends tax money and says look what we did for the veterans so we can fell good about ourselves instead of doing something that really helps vets like give them a real home instead of something that Portland Oregon did that looks like and is the size of an outhouse and they have to use a communal outhouse, that really shows we care about our veterans NOT!☹
My late Vietnam Veteran husband, JAMES MICHAEL HOPKINS, is Interred in Arlington National Cemetery, DOD July 5, 2012. As far as I know, Arlington is not a VA Cemetery, but will this Memorial include their names? Thank You.
My brother KIA Vietnam 1967 is buried in Arlington. I searched https://www.va.gov/remember/ and his name did not come up. My father and grandfather buried VA Cemeteries did come up. Looks like Arlington National Cemetery is not included.
I could not find my father, Col William Wesley Campbell, who served in the Chemical Corps during WWII and Korea and died on active duty in 1959 or 60 while at Letterman Hospital.
Sounds like a good idea is there a way to access this sight and look up someone by name and a base and date he was stationed there
Go to: https://www.va.gov/remember/
There are 4-fields for information to find your buddy. You do not need to fill out all four. I even searched with a last name only at a known cemetary, worked fine. User friendly!
Good Luck,
Brad
I am a veteran, I think this is a great idea for all our veterans!!! Whom ever came up with this idea… I applaud you!!! If there is a way as stated by others… to include other veterans that were so brave to fight for our country… but were buried abroad and/or are MIA… it would be great to make this site more complete …to have all our brave soldiers together on one site! I know it will take an aweful long time to add everyone… but we have so much capability with social media that reaching out to all cemeteries across the world… we could take pictures of the stones (if they have them) with plot number and cemetery info! This would help people connect to being there even if they can’t be physically! I know when I visit my family I go to the cemetery to my family’s graves to lay flowers. I wouldn’t mind taking a few days to take pictures of the brave veterans there and ask the cemetery workers to give me as many particulars as they can on the veterans! I’m in if you need some help adding all veterans!! I’m positive others would help!!
We are not given the time of day when we are still alive. I really don’t care if they celibate my death somehow on a web site. The Maguire VA hospital might be happy to be rid of Vienam NCO vets.
I totally agree with you, let’s celebrate there death now that we no longer have to deal with you or pay you anymore disability
I find your distaste of The VA rather sad, but I understand the VA service you’re used to is obviously not up to par. The VA in Milwaukee does quite well in taking care of us here from my perspective. I KNOW all VA’s are not equal. So so something if you can about it instead of crying. I’ve been in one in WEST VIRGINIA that is sub-par. I can’t help there but you who attend those sub-par VA’s ought to fight for better care, as I would and do here. Patient Advocate’s are a means to a positive end. Attitude is everything so if you’ve chosen to give up, that’s on you.
Thanks for this service
Ronald W Crouch TSgt USAF Retired
I know of two people that are not listed, Jasper E Gibson from WW1 and Montgomery Chase SM2 from Vietnam era. They are not buried in a national cemetery, but should they not be honored on this list?
My Father fought in WWII-His full Name is Melvin Emcene Smith-birth year September 28,1924-Died on January 11th,2011.
This is an excellent idea! My grandfather served with Gen. Pershing in France during WWI , my father flew B-24’s over Germany during WWII, several uncles served in WWII, as well as, the Korean war and I served in Vietnam during that war. I am the only one who wants to be buried in a national cemetery; all my ancestors were buried in private cemeteries. It would be great to honor them as well.
Great idea, digital remembrance!
yes, they should but they won’t…
Seems they could include our American veterans who are buried in the American cemeteries across the world.
All veterans in military cemeteries should be included whether in the US or in foreign countries.
This is amazing! I’m so glad the VA is attempting to keep up with the current world for once. Great job!
I love this idea for honoring deceased veterans. I also would like this program to honor those veterans buried in private cemeteries.
Could not navigate the site: Father’s name, service branch, area of conflict not recognized. Arlington Cemetery (his burial location) not in cemetery search list. Very disappointing. Hope it improves over time.
Arlington is not a VA cemetery.
As a veteran who was in the Pacific during WW2 thanks God for keeping me alive for 95 years. My heart goes out to other
veterans and their families and also to those who gave their
lives and their survivors on the 9/11/2001 dastardly attacks from the Saudi maniacs All honor to their names.!
Thank God again for this Patriots day where we honor those who served..
I like this idea! It seems to fit well in the digital age now.
I drove seven hours to volunteer at Marietta National Cemetery, unfortunately this was the worst organized project I have ever participated in. No one showed up to represent CTL, and when the person supposedly in charge of the cemetery he was an hour late, and had a horrible attitude. Hopefully everyone else had a better experience than me. After the drive up, we did find a private cemetery with many veterans graves and cleaned up. To all those that volunteered today, Thank You.
Awesome thought. That would be a great addition to a great app
Tried to find a very dear friend who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I was unable to find Arlington National on the list of cemetery’s. It is the most famous of all and is the final resting place of Presidents including JFK.
Tried to locate a buddy on three occasions and your “system” doesn’t work – keeps telling us to “try later.
Doesn’t work, keeps on getting a JSON exception error
Will they also add the ones whose ashes are at Arlington?
Could they eventually expand this program to allow something for MIA vets and those
buried in Europe and anywhere else in the world.. My brother is an MIA from WW2 and there is just a marker for him and thousands of others in Europe. They shouldn’t be forgotten and as time passes, families will have no one living that can supply any information on these poor souls.
It would be nice. For “Pvt. Monroe Hattem… 66th Black Panther Division”
I have a father , uncle, grandfather and the cemetary they are in is one full of veterans. there are names further back than Civil War. But it’s not a national cemetery , Rockland Township , Venango CNTY PA It certainly should be on this register. I hope there is an effort to at least get the names listed even if the data can’t all be found.
Why is Arlington National Cemetery left out of the cemetery search list?
Maj. William Clare “Bill” Coltman and 1LT Robert Arthur “Lefty” Brett Jr.
Capt. Donald Dean Stafford and Capt Charles Joseph Cafferrelli.
LTCOL Ronald J. Ward and MAJ James R. McElvain
MAJ Robert M. Brown and CAPT Robert D. Morrissey
CAPT James A. Hockridge and 1LT Allen U. Graham
Knew them all personally,
My husband’s grandfather and uncle are buried in Arlington, but Arlington isn’t listed. WWI and Korea era
Both are named:Joseph Matthew Ganey. Why isn’t Arlington Bational Cemetery listed
Tried to locate both my father and my father innlaw who both served in the Navy during WW II, and could not get either one to display. The directions are vague and so not sure if There was something more to do, but regardless wonder why nothing displayed for these Two Veterans.
You are assuming someone is interested in what us veterans have accomplished in “our lives and service” as you say. I have found that, by in large, no one is interested unless it benefits them. My family isn’t interested in a burial I rate as a senior NCO at Arlington and have stated they will put me where they want. If I have my way, I’ll be cremated and sat out with the trash. No obituary, no funeral, just cease to exist.
I read your comment and couldn’t help but to feel sad for you. It sounds as your family doesn’t care much for you and its a shame. Every person, every life should be celebrated with love, dignity and respect. Don’t give up your hope! Your life is worth celebrating as well. God bless you!
From Disabled Vietnam Vet’s wife: I am so sorry you feel the way you do. Know that My Dear alive Hubby of 50 years- & I care! My Father in law is 94, alive still too. Please prepare a simple “Will” & state your wishes where you wish to be buried. If you don’t want to go to a lawyer either
1. Write it out on paper callcalling it you “last will & testament” say what you want & have any impartial younger witness (or 2) sign it after you sign. Trust them with a copy to present after your death- it is as good as a legal one.
2. Contact us & I will send you legal Will forms free of course. I would just need you to call me first for a place to mail it. Former Sgt. E-6 Hal T. Mettee, 100% disabled Vietnam Veteran & Pam wife of 50 years. I want nothing in return! Sincerely, Pam Mettee
This is a very significant program for the families, to be able to find love ones. And for the families can’t travel to be there. Great app.
Is there an option to opt out of this, or is there no choice?
I agree with David’s suggestion.
I agree with Mr. Hatfield that “Veterans Legacy Memorial” should include veterans not in a National Cemetary.
I searched the VLM sight for two of my uncles buried at the Rock Island Arsenal National cemetary. Only one was listed.
Raymond E Zeigler march 12 2014 WWII army
Couldn’t they also add the information from the headstones or grave markers they make for those Veterans who are buried in private cemeteries? If the goal really is to “Veterans Legacy Memorial ensures ‘no Veteran ever dies’ by honoring the legacy of our nation’s Veterans, not just in our cemeteries, but in a new and innovative digital setting,” as Secretary Wilkie said, this is another large group of Veterans that VA already has all the information for, going back to at least the Civil War.
As stated in the first paragraph “The Veterans Legacy Memorial, the country’s first digital platform dedicated entirely to memory preservation for the 3.7 million Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries, launched Aug. 14.” This is for the Veterans interred in VA NATIONAL CEMETERIES!!
Excellent idea, my grand father was one who was at hitlers palace when they stormed it. He died a hero and was buried in a grave he bought and paid for after he returned from the war. He has no head stone and I can not get one for him.
Anyone with Honorable Discharge papers may order a Veteran monument. If you are unsure how then contact an American Legion Post, DAV Post or VA directly they can assist with the process.