HONORING THE LIVES OF
THOSE WHO SERVE

At Island Cremations & Funeral Home, it is the Funeral Directors job to set these arrangements with the Military. This does not incur extra charges. All you need to do is bring in a discharge papers and let us handle the rest. If you pre-arrange with us we will make a copy for your file.

Who is eligible for Military Funeral Honors?

    • Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
    • Former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
    • Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
    • Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

What can the family of an eligible veteran expect?

The core elements of the funeral honors ceremony, which will be conducted are:

    • Flag folding
    • Flag presentation
    • Playing of Taps
    • The veteran’s parent Service representative will present the flag

National cemetery spaces for the veteran and the spouse are given to veterans at no charge, as is opening and closing and a grave marker at no charge.

Make an appointment with Paul and he would be glad to help you with this information.

Military honors

The Department of Defense is responsible for providing Military Funeral Honors. Every eligible Veteran is entitled to Military Honors, by law. This includes the folding and presenting of the United States burial flag and the playing of Taps. The law defines the service as “consisting of two or more uniformed military persons, with at least one being a member of the Veteran’s parent service of the armed forces.”

Burial allowances

A Veterans Administration Burial Allowance is a flatrate monetary benefit for eligible Veterans. The amount of allowance is dependent upon such factors as:

  • Whether the Veteran’s death was service-related
  • Non-service-related death
  • When the death occurred

To find out if you are eligible for Burial Benefit, you will need to complete VA Form - Application for Burial Benefit.

The VA can provide headstones, markers, and medallions to any unmarked grave of an eligible Veteran in any cemetery, anywhere in the world, regardless of the date of the death.

If a National Cemetery, state Veterans’ Cemetery, or Military Post/Base Cemetery is chosen, then a headstone or marker will be organized by the cemetery officials, based on inscription information provided by the Veteran’s next of kin or authorized representative.