Plot, grave opening and closing, concrete liners and perpetual care at no cost at four state cemeteries, with VA supplying the headstone or marker. Maine residency is not required.
Also called: cemetery, burial, Augusta, Caribou, Springvale, Civic Center Drive, Mount Vernon Road, Maliseet, columbarium, perpetual care.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
The Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System operates four cemeteries: the Northern Maine cemetery in Caribou, two Central Maine cemeteries in Augusta on Civic Center Drive and Mount Vernon Road, and the Southern Maine cemetery in Springvale. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Veterans Cemetery in Littleton is a separate tribal cemetery.
What the state provides at no cost is the plot, opening and closing the grave, perpetual care, and in-ground concrete liners for full casket burials. VA provides the headstone, marker or niche cover. Burial options are a columbarium niche for cremated remains, in-ground burial of cremated remains, and full casket burial. A family member may be buried next to the veteran or in the same plot.
The eligibility rule to know is the one most people get wrong in the other direction: Maine residency is not required. The system uses the same eligibility as VA national cemeteries. That reaches an honorably discharged veteran, a person who died on active duty, an honorably discharged reserve component member who completed a first term of enlistment or was discharged for a medical condition, and an activated reserve component member. Spouses and dependents may be buried there, with dependents meaning unmarried children under 21, or under 23 if a full-time student, or a child with a lifelong disability that arose before 21.
No disability rating affects eligibility, so a rating filter never hides this entry.
Pre-certification is the practical advice and the system offers it. Completing the eligibility application while the veteran is living means the family is not assembling a DD214 in the two days after a death, which is when the discharge document most often turns out to be missing. The bureau can also help locate a discharge record, since it holds DD214s for Maine residents at entry.
Military funeral honours are a separate service and are available to all honorably discharged veterans. The funeral director contacts the relevant branch's casualty assistance centre rather than the cemetery. Ask the funeral home to confirm it has made that call, because honours are arranged through a different chain than the burial.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System
Gate
Rule
VA national cemetery eligibility, without a residency test
Eligibility follows VA national cemetery rules and does not require Maine residency. An honorably discharged veteran, a person who died on active duty, a reserve component member who completed a first term or was discharged for a medical condition, and an activated reserve component member all qualify. No rating is involved, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.
Spouses and dependent children
Spouses and dependents may be buried in the system. Dependents means unmarried children under 21, under 23 if a full-time student, or a child with a lifelong disability that began before 21.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.