By clicking
Talk to a Specialist, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
They will provide a headstone with a plaque or if you have a headstone they will provide a plaque but you must also pay for the installation of headstone and or plaque.
By the way...if your father died as an indirect cause of chemicals used in Vietnam there is a plaque in Washington.
The In Memory Plaque was dedicated in November 2004. The plaque memorializes all those who served in the Vietnam War and later died from causes related to the war, such as illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure. The In Memory ceremony is held each year on the National Mall in Washington DC to honor these veterans. Families may nominate their loved ones to be honored through VVMF's In Memory program at https://www.VVMF.org/InMemory
The VA does offer either veterans headstones or an in-ground plaque.
The VA will have a record of who they sent it to and when.
Here is a link that gives more information, phone numbers and a link to the form.
Remember that the cemetery where your dad is buried may have rules on what is placed in the cemetery. (Flat vs upright, size of stone under plaque). If you walk around the cemetery you will find examples.
https://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/
You need to contact your County VA office and tell them Dad never received his plaque. My in-laws are buried in a National Cemetery. There was a representative of the cemetery there that took all the info for the plaque on the day of burial. The plaque was installed a few weeks later.
VA cemeteries also take burials in addition to cremations. A specific cemetery may be out of space except for cremations but expansions to the cemeteries are going on all the time.
My Husband was a veteran, he had a plot in a cemetery I paid for the opening and closing, I paid for the vault and the casket. The only thing that the VA provided was the plaque that is on the stone that marks his grave.
Had I chosen to have him buried in the VA cemetery I could have but it is 2 hours away and he/we already owned the plot.
There is a form you can fill out for the plaque contact the VA or maybe the local VFW would help you out