| Editor’s Note: Following are typical questions answered daily by VA counselors. Full information is available at any VA office. |
Q. I do a lot of volunteer work with kids. What can I do to help youngsters understand what it means to be a veteran?
A. Sharing your personal experience of military service can influence young people who don’t have family members who are veterans. You don’t have to be a combat veteran with hair-raising yarns to tell. Many veterans service organizations have formal programs in which members visit schools.
The Department of Veterans Affairs recently began a new Internet site that will help young people understand what it means to be a veteran. It’s called VA Kids and it’s located on the Internet at http://www.va.gov/kids.
The Web page has three major areas – one for students in kindergarden through grade 5, a second section for grades 6 through 12 and a final section for teachers.
VA Kids has interactive activities such as puzzles, coloring pages and matching contests. It also has information about VA, Veterans Day, scholarships and links to veteran-related sites. The teachers’ section contains additional information, links and suggested classroom activities.
Q. What does it mean when VA says a national cemetery is closed? Does that mean I can no longer visit my deceased friends and relatives?
A. When a national cemetery is closed, it no longer has enough space for new gravesites. Many still permit burial of family members in the same grave as the veteran. Other closed VA national cemeteries still accommodate cremated remains. Occasionally, full-casket gravesites become available in closed cemeteries due to the transfer of remains to another cemetery. A closed national cemetery will always welcome visitors who come to honor loved ones.
Q. How do VA’s new hybrid adjustable rate mortgages work?
A. Under a pilot program lasting until September 2005, VA is guaranteeing hybrid adjustable rate mortgages that specify an initial rate of interest that is fixed for a period of at least three years. After that time, the rate can be adjusted annually. Annual adjustments are limited to 1 percent, and the maximum increase in the interest rate over the life of the loan is capped at 5 percent. The hybrid differs from the traditional adjustable rate mortgages by those initial fixed rates for at least three years.
For further information about VA financial payments, call 1-800-827-1000.
For information about VA health care, call 1-877-222-8387.
Or visit VA’s web-page at www.va.gov.
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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