Somerset County Veterans Affairs Office

Somerset County's Veterans Affairs Office is the office every Pennsylvania county must have: a director of veterans affairs appointed by the county (16 Pa.C.S. 15524). See the Pennsylvania entry on county directors for the State programmes that go through it. The county's page: "The Somerset County Veterans Affairs Office assists Veterans and eligible dependents in applying for federal, state and county benefits. We advocate for Veterans and assist with all aspects of applying for benefits." Walk-ins are taken, but "we strongly recommend that you call for an appointment to ensure a Veteran Service Officer is available". Where. County Annex Office Building, 300 North Center Avenue, Suite 380, Somerset, PA 15501; (814) 445-1551, fax (814) 445-1446, [email protected]; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed noon to 1. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs' directors list (September 9, 2026) names Brock Hemminger, [email protected]. The office has turned over in 2026: its director left in February, his successor in July, and Mr. Hemminger, hired as assistant director in March, became director on July 27. The Veteran ID card. The office's "Application for Somerset County Veteran ID Card", "Courtesy of Somerset County Commissioners, Sheriff's Office, Veteran Services", asks the veteran's name, contact details, entry and discharge dates and branch and era, and is approved by Veteran Services against the recorded discharge's book and page, so record the DD-214 with the Recorder of Deeds first. Burial and headstones. The county's forms: an "Application for Burial Expenses for Deceased Service Person" in "the amount of $100", a "Claim for Burial Expenses of a Deceased Service Person's Spouse" for $100, and an "Application for Headstone for a Deceased Service Person's Grave" for a headstone, lettering on an existing memorial or a base for a government headstone "at a cost not to exceed $75", for a veteran resident in the county at death on whose grave there has never been a memorial. The forms still cite the General County Code of 1929 and the County Code of 1955; the law is now 16 Pa.C.S. Chapter 155, which sets the burial allowance floor at $75 (the county's $100 is above it) but has the county provide the headstone base or lettering at actual cost (section 15513), not up to $75. A family whose stone costs more should cite section 15513. Claims are due within one year of the death; the Pennsylvania entry has the rest. Rides. "DAV transportation is available to Altoona VAMC on Mondays and to Pittsburgh (University Drive and Aspinwall) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Please call at least 3 days in advance and schedule your appointments between the hours of 8:30 am - 1:00 pm when possible." The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona answers at (877) 626-2500.