Informal gatherings of any size may resume at VA cemeteries May 26

2021-05-26T10:33:21-04:00

Beginning today, May 26, families may invite as many guests as desired to honor the service and sacrifice of loved ones at their final resting places, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced last Friday.

VA’s National Cemetery Administration lifted restrictions on the number of people allowed to attend committal and memorial services at all of its 155 national cemeteries.

“Our cemeteries and staffs can handle the increased visitation,” said Les’ A. Melnyk, chief of NCA public affairs and outreach, in an emailed statement.

This new policy adds to one issued a few days earlier, when NCA lifted rules for visitors and staff who are fully vaccinated. That brought NCA policy in line with interim guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 13.

“This is an important step in restoring full operations,” said Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald Walters in a statement. “We are pleased families will no longer have to limit the number of people attending a service or physically distance themselves from each other after they are fully vaccinated.”

NCA joins others across federal, state and local government in loosening restrictions imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19, which to date has caused the death of 588,000 Americans, including more than 11,700 Veterans in VA care.

Between March 23 and June 8, 2020, VA national cemeteries were restricted to performing direct interments and not permitted to perform committal or memorial services. On June 9, 2020, NCA limited the number of people allowed to attend committal and memorial services.

No large public Memorial Day ceremonies yet

However, Melnyk clarified that NCA is still unable to hold the type of public Memorial Day events that military and Veteran families were used to attending in years past. Those events take months of planning, he said, and the federal shift in direction does not leave enough time to plan more elaborate ceremonies.

“Because the change to CDC guidance came when it did,” Melnyk told RallyPoint via email, “it is logistically impossible for NCA to now plan public ceremonies for Memorial Day.”

Even though VA cemeteries are not yet able to accommodate large public ceremonies, he said, another new allowance this year will be “volunteer groups placing flags on graves throughout our cemeteries.”

Adopt a gravesite

If you’re not able to visit a gravesite in person, consider joining the “adopt a gravesite” effort, an idea pioneered by VA’s Veterans Experience Office, NCA and the RallyPoint community. Read the original post outlining the process at http://rly.pt/3nznKKi. Here’s how to take part:

If you’re looking for someone to visit, click that link and type LOOKING in the search bar at top. Share a few details about your Veteran so the volunteer can honor their service.

If you’re offering to visit, type VISITING and the cemetery’s name. Consider taking a picture and sending it to the Veteran family member or loved one who requested the visit.

If you are not sure where your Veteran is buried or interred, use the National Cemetery Administration’s Nationwide Gravesite Locator at http://rly.pt/3bvEXls. A virtual platform for remembrance is also available at http://rly.pt/3nD3CGW.

Learn more

Check out NCA’s news release lifting restrictions on attending VA cemeteries: https://www.cem.va.gov/pressreleases/NCA_Lifts_Restrictions_on_Attendance_at_Committal_Services_Adjusts_COVID_Safety_Precautions.asp.

Learn more about coronavirus vaccines and get vaccinated at VA or in the community: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine.

Read CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html.

Read about VA’s Memorial Day flag placement and virtual events: https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5673.

Read a VA blog about the adopt a gravesite effort: https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/83892/rallypoint-members-pay-tribute-veterans-pandemic.

Honoring your Veteran's grave this holiday season | RallyPoint

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people visit the graves of their loved-ones interred at VA National Cemeteries. These special trips often occur around the holidays, but due to COVID-19 safety concerns many are unable to make the trip this year. But just because you can’t be there in person doesn’t mean your Veteran is forgotten. “In the military we often say ‘No one is left behind,’ and at the National Cemetery Administration we have a...

Response by SGT Herbert Bollum made May 26 at 2021 10:36 AM

2021-05-26T10:36:33-04:00

about time this happens

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made May 26 at 2021 10:38 AM

2021-05-26T10:38:22-04:00

Excellent news share RallyPoint Shared Content

Response by 1SG Steven Imerman made May 26 at 2021 11:07 AM

2021-05-26T11:07:15-04:00

About time. Keeping ME safe is MY business, no one else's. I should decide whether to attend a function or not based on my personal perception of threat. If that kills me, so be it, it's on my head.

Response by MSG Greg Kelly made May 28 at 2021 4:02 PM

2021-05-28T16:02:41-04:00

but riots are still ok Wow thanks Joe Biden

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 30 at 2021 3:20 PM

2021-05-30T15:20:57-04:00

I am so freaking happy about my VA Hospital. They always act like they care about me. I give them an A grade.

Response by SFC Randy Hellenbrand made May 30 at 2021 9:18 PM

2021-05-30T21:18:50-04:00

Just remember Trump called our honored dead--LOSERS AND SUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Jun 21 at 2021 7:11 PM

2021-06-21T19:11:52-04:00

RallyPoint Shared Content awesome share and read of importance.