Burial at Randolph Center at no cost to the veteran in the government marker sections, with an opening and closing fee for a spouse or child, and a statutory duty to accept the unclaimed remains of an eligible veteran.
Also called: cemetery, Randolph Center, 20 VSA 1584, 20 VSA 1586, unclaimed remains, burial, perpetual care, Vermont granite.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
Title 20, chapter 84 created the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery on roughly 100 acres in the northerly portion of the State-owned Langevin Farm in Randolph. The Adjutant General administers it with the advice of a Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery Advisory Board chaired by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services.
Eligibility follows the VA national cemetery rules rather than a separate state test: discharge from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable, death on active duty, or twenty or more years in the Guard or Reserve with eligibility for military retirement. Spouses and dependent children can be interred, with a child unmarried and under 21, or under 23 if a full-time student, or disabled before 21 and lifelong dependent.
There is no cost for the veteran in the government marker sections. An opening and closing fee applies for a spouse or child. A commercial monument section exists for families who want a private memorial, and the grounds include a non-denominational chapel and a memorial garden with perpetual care of graves and headstones.
Section 1585 puts a Vermont detail into the design: preference shall be given to Vermont granite, Vermont slate, and Vermont marble for all memorialization, and the family of a veteran, a veteran's spouse, or a veteran's minor child may choose an upright or a flat memorial. Most national cemeteries do not give the family that choice.
Section 1586 is the provision worth knowing and it was added by 2019 Act 9, effective April 23, 2019. The cemetery shall accept and inter the unclaimed remains of an eligible veteran where a funeral director or crematory operator has made the determination under 18 V.S.A. 5227(c)(2), or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has made it under 18 V.S.A. 5227(d)(4). It is a duty on the cemetery, not a discretion, and it is the route by which a Vermont veteran who dies with no family reaches a marked grave.
Pre-application is recommended rather than required. Establishing eligibility in advance takes the question away from a family working against a funeral timetable.
Military funeral honors, a gun salute, flag folding, presentation of the flag to the next of kin, and Taps, are arranged separately through the Vermont Military Department on 802-338-3490.
No disability rating is involved.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Gate
Rule
VA national cemetery eligibility
Eligibility follows the federal national cemetery rules: discharge under conditions other than dishonorable, death on active duty, or twenty or more years of Guard or Reserve service with eligibility for retirement. Spouses and dependent children may be interred. No disability rating is involved, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.
Free for the veteran, a fee for a spouse or child
There is no cost for the veteran in the government marker sections. An opening and closing fee applies for a spouse or a child.
Unclaimed remains must be accepted
Section 1586 requires the cemetery to accept and inter the unclaimed remains of an eligible veteran on a determination by a funeral director, a crematory operator, or the Chief Medical Examiner under 18 V.S.A. 5227.
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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.