8\. BURIAL BENEFITS

VA's National Cemetery Administration's memorial-related programs honor
veterans with a final resting place and lasting memorials that
commemorate their service to our Nation. Veteran burial benefits include
a gravesite in any of the national cemeteries that have space available,
opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care of the gravesite, a
government headstone or marker, a grave liner for casketed remains, a
burial flag[^1], and a Presidential Memorial Certificate at no cost to
the family.

As of September 30, 2002, the National Cemetery Administration
maintained more than 2.5 million gravesites at 120 national cemeteries
in 39 states and Puerto Rico as well as 33 soldier's lots and monument
sites. In addition, more than 325,000 full-casket gravesites, 68,000
in-ground gravesites for cremated remains, and 35,900 columbarium niches
are currently available. Approximately 13,900 acres of land lie within
established National Cemetery Administration installations. Just over
half are undeveloped and have the potential to provide more than 3.4
million gravesites.

In FY 2002, the National Cemetery Administration provided for more than
89,000 interments, and supplied more than 348,000 headstones and
markers. In addition approximately 289,000 Presidential Memorial
Certificates were delivered to the family members, friends, and loved
ones of deceased veterans.

This chapter describes NSV results related to VA burial benefits. This
module of the survey contained nine items. These nine items asked the
veteran whether he or she had heard of specific burial benefit programs
(VA headstones and markers, burial in a National or State Veterans'
Cemetery, Presidential Memorial Certificates for next of kin), and
collected information on veteran burial plans and preferences. These
items also collected veteran reasons for wanting/not wanting to be
buried in a veterans' cemetery, and asked whether the veteran intended
to use a VA-provided headstone or marker. Similar to other survey
modules the "Burial Benefits" module collected information on how well
the veteran understood VA burial benefits and how difficult the veteran
thought it would be to obtain information about these benefits.

# 8.1 Veteran Awareness of Burial Benefit Entitlements

Table 8-1 summarizes veteran awareness of the three VA burial benefits.
The program for which veterans indicate the most awareness is burial in
a national or state Veterans' Cemetery, followed by VA headstones and
burial markers in private cemeteries, and Presidential Memorial
Certificates for next of kin of deceased veterans.

Table 8-1. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran awareness of
veteran burial benefits

  ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------
                                                    Total

  Burial in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery  58.8

  VA headstones and burial markers in private       44.2
  cemeteries                                        

  Presidential Memorial Certificates for next of    13.3
  kin of deceased veterans                          

  Number of veterans†                               25,196,000
  ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

† Estimate of number of veterans is rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one benefit.

Tables 8-2 through 8-4 provide data on veteran awareness of VA burial
programs by gender, ethnicity and race. This ordering of awareness
remains the same regardless of veteran gender, ethnicity, or race.

Table 8-2. Percent distribution of veterans by awareness of VA Memorial
Affairs programs and gender

  ---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
                                     Total        Males        Females

  Burial in a national or state      58.8         58.5         63.4
  Veterans' Cemetery                                           

  VA headstones and burial markers   44.2         44.1         46.0
  in private cemeteries                                        

  Presidential Memorial Certificates 13.3         13.2         14.4
  for next-of-kin of deceased                                  
  veterans                                                     

  Number of veterans†                25,196,000   23,712,400   1,483,600
  ---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one benefit.

Table 8-3. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran awareness of
veteran burial benefits and race

  -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- -------- ---------- --------- ------- -------------- --------- ----
                              One race                                                                       Two or                           
                                                                                                             more                             
                                                                                                             races                            

                 Total        Total\       White        Black or\   American   Asian    Native     Total\            American       Race      
                              one race                  African     Indian or           Hawaiian   two or\           Indian or      unknown   
                                                        American    Alaska              or Other   more              Alaska                   
                                                                    Native              Pacific    races             Native/White             
                                                                                        Islander                                              

  VA headstones  44.2         44.4         44.7         42.4        39.0       38.8     40.8\*     44.5              43.5           38.8      
  and burial                                                                                                                                  
  markers in                                                                                                                                  
  private                                                                                                                                     
  cemeteries                                                                                                                                  

  Burial in a    58.8         58.8         59.2         56.7        45.7       55.0     58.1\*     59.8              59.1           57.1      
  national or                                                                                                                                 
  state Veterans                                                                                                                              
  Cemetery                                                                                                                                    

  Presidential   13.3         13.2         12.8         16.3        16.2       17.9     14.1\*     15.8              12.3           13.6      
  Memorial                                                                                                                                    
  Certificates                                                                                                                                
  for next of                                                                                                                                 
  kin of                                                                                                                                      
  deceased                                                                                                                                    
  veterans                                                                                                                                    

  Number of      25,196,000   23,857,100   21,370,900   2,216,600   159,900    73,200   36,500     557,500           360,800        781,400   
  veterans†                                                                                                                                   
  -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- -------- ---------- --------- ------- -------------- --------- ----

\*Low precision and/or sample size for the denominator between 30 and
59.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one benefit.

Table 8-4. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran awareness of
veteran burial benefits and ethnicity

  ----------------------------------- ------------ ----------- ------------
                                      Total        Spanish,    Not Spanish,
                                                   Hispanic,   Hispanic, or
                                                   or Latino   Latino

  Burial in a national or state       58.8         56.8        58.8
  Veterans Cemetery                                            

  VA headstones and burial markers in 44.2         36.1        44.6
  private cemeteries                                           

  Presidential Memorial Certificates  13.3         13.5        13.3
  for next-of-kin of deceased                                  
  veterans                                                     

  Number of veterans†                 25,196,000   1,122,200   23,990,200
  ----------------------------------- ------------ ----------- ------------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
the total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans did not provide their Ethnicity; percent estimates will not sum
to 100 because veterans could indicate more than one benefit.

Table 8-5 summarizes veteran awareness of VA burial programs by age. A
greater percentage of older veterans than younger veterans indicate an
awareness of burial in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery, and VA
headstones and burial markers in private cemeteries.

Table 8-5. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran awareness of
veteran burial benefits and age

  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                    Total        Less than   35 - 44     45 - 54     55 - 64     65 - 74     75 years or
                                 35 years    years       years       years       years       older

  Burial in a       58.8         47.2        52.1        58.9        58.9        62.9        64.7
  national or state                                                                          
  Veterans'                                                                                  
  Cemetery                                                                                   

  VA headstones and 44.2         29.9        35.6        43.0        40.9        50.6        55.7
  burial markers in                                                                          
  private                                                                                    
  cemeteries                                                                                 

  Presidential      13.3         13.2        13.4        12.5        11.4        14.6        15.0
  Memorial                                                                                   
  Certificates for                                                                           
  next of kin of                                                                             
  deceased veterans                                                                          

  Number of         25,196,000   2,288,600   3,030,300   5,415,100   4,946,000   5,256,400   4,116,100
  veterans†                                                                                  
  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
the total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans did not provide their age; percent estimates will not sum to
100 because veterans could indicate more than one benefit.

# 8.2 Veteran Burial Plans

The survey also asked veterans about their burial plans in terms of the
type of burial (i.e., in-ground casket burial, cremation, or some other
plan). Table 8-6 summarizes veteran burial plans in terms of all
veterans as well as by gender. In general, at a rate of approximately 2
to 1 over cremation, most veterans indicate plans for an in-ground
casket burial. About 7 percent of veterans remain undecided about their
burial plans, and nearly 3 percent indicated that they have made other
plans.

Table 8-6. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran burial plans and
gender

  ------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ------------
                                  Total         Males         Females

  In-ground casket burial         59.8          60.2          53.0

  Cremation                       30.3          29.8          38.5

  Undecided                       6.6           6.7           5.1

  Some other plan                 2.7           2.7           2.7

  Unknown                         0.6           0.6           0.7\*

  Total                           100.0         100.0         100.0

  Number of veterans†             25,196,000    23,712,400    1,483,600
  ------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ------------

\* Low precision and/or sample size for the denominator between 30 and
59.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

When comparing male veterans to female veterans, a slightly higher
percentage of male veterans indicate plans for an in-ground casket
burial than female veterans. A slightly higher percentage of female
veterans indicate plans for cremation than male veterans.

Table 8-7 examines veteran burial plans by race. Except for Asian
veterans, the general veteran preference is for an in-ground casket
burial. Black/African American veterans indicated plans for an in-ground
casket burial at a rate of approximately 5.6 to 1 over cremation. About
an equal number of Asian veterans indicated an in-ground casket burial
as indicated cremation. When compared to the other racial groups, a
higher percentage of Asian veterans indicated that they are presently
undecided about their burial plans.

Table 8-8 summarizes veteran burial plans by ethnicity. Spanish,
Hispanic, or Latino veterans indicated plans for an in-ground casket
burial at a rate of about 2.6 to 1 over cremation. This rate is slightly
higher than that of non-Spanish, Hispanic or Latino veterans who
indicated plans for an in-ground casket burial at a rate of about 2 to 1
over cremation

Veteran burial plans by age group are summarized in Table 8-9. Veteran
age and burial plans do not appear to be strongly correlated.

Table 8-7. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran burial plans and
race

  ----------- ------------ ------------ -------- ------------ ------- ----------- ---------- --------- ---------- -------- ------- -------- ---------- --------- -------- --------- -------------- --------- ---------
                                        One race                                                                                                                 Two or                                      
                                                                                                                                                                 more                                        
                                                                                                                                                                 races                                       

              Total                     Total\                White               Black or\            American            Asian            Native               Total\             American                 Race
                                        one race                                  African              Indian or                            Hawaiian             two or\            Indian or                unknown
                                                                                  American             Alaska                               or Other             more               Alaska                   
                                                                                                       Native                               Pacific              races              Native/White             
                                                                                                                                            Islander                                                         

  In-ground   59.8         59.8                  57.9                 78.0                   57.3                 39.7             64.7\*              52.5               48.7                     65.4      
  casket                                                                                                                                                                                                     
  burial                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Cremation   30.3         30.6                  32.2                 13.8                   35.9                 44.9             25.2\*              35.3               38.9                     19.9      

  Undecided   6.6          6.4                   6.5                  6.0                    4.6\*                13.3\*           7.2\*               6.6                7.4                      9.9       

  Some other  2.7          2.6                   2.8                  1.6                    2.2\*                1.0\*            2.9\*               4.6                4.4                      2.8       
  plan                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  Unknown     0.6          0.6                   0.6                  0.6\*                  0.0                  1.1\*            0.0\*               1.0\*              0.6\*                    2.0\*     

  Total       100.0        100.0                 100.0                100.0                  100.0                100.0            100.0               100.0              100.0                    100.0     

  Number of   25,196,000   23,857,100            21,370,900           2,216,600              159,900              73,200           36,500              557,500            360,800                  781,400   
  veterans†                                                                                                                                                                                                  
  ----------- ------------ ------------ -------- ------------ ------- ----------- ---------- --------- ---------- -------- ------- -------- ---------- --------- -------- --------- -------------- --------- ---------

\* Low precision and/or sample size for the denominator between 30 and
59.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Table 8-8. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran burial plans and
ethnicity

  ------------------------------ ------------- ------------- -------------
                                 Total         Spanish,      Not Spanish,
                                               Hispanic or   Hispanic or
                                               Latino        Latino

  In-ground casket burial        59.8          63.3          59.6

  Cremation                      30.3          24.2          30.7

  Undecided                      6.6           9.1           6.4

  Some other plan                2.7           2.7\*         2.7

  Unknown                        0.6           0.7\*         0.6

  Total                          100.0         100.0         100.0

  Number of veterans†            25,196,000    1,122,200     23,990,200
  ------------------------------ ------------- ------------- -------------

\* Low precision and/or sample size for the denominator between 30 and
59.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
the total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans did not provide their Ethnicity.

Table 8-9. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran burial plans and
age group

  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                    Total        Less than   35 - 44     45 - 54     55 - 64     65 - 74     75 years or
                                 35 years    years       years       years       years       older

  In-ground casket  59.8         62.8        57.8        58.0        56.7        62.9        61.7
  burial                                                                                     

  Cremation         30.3         26.7        31.2        32.6        33.4        27.6        28.8

  Undecided         6.6          7.3         7.5         6.5         7.4         5.8         5.3

  Some other plan   2.7          2.3         2.8         2.2         2.1         3.1         3.5

  Unknown           0.6          0.9\*       0.7         0.7         0.4\*       0.6         0.7

  Total             100.0        100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0

  Number of         25,196,000   2,288,600   3,030,300   5,415,100   4,946,000   5,256,400   4,116,100
  veterans†                                                                                  
  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

\* Low precision and/or sample size for the denominator between 30 and
59.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
the total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans did not provide their age.

## 8.2.1 Disposition of Cremated Remains for Veterans Indicating Cremation as a Burial Plan

Those veterans who indicated cremation as a burial plan were also asked
what they planned to have done with their cremated remains (i.e., placed
in a columbarium, buried, scattered, or something else). Table 8-10
indicates that nearly two-thirds of these veterans said that they
planned to have their cremated remains scattered. This finding is true
of male veterans as well as female veterans.

Table 8-10. Percent distribution of veterans by disposition of cremated
remains and gender for veterans indicating cremation as a burial plan

  ----------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
                          Total           Males           Females

  Placed in a Columbarium 7.4             7.7             5.7

  Buried                  18.8            18.9            18.4

  Scattered               64.7            64.6            65.7

  Some Other Arrangement  9.0             8.9             10.2

  Total                   100.0           100.0           100.0

  Number of veterans†     7,803,200       7,222,300       580,900
  ----------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Table 8-11 indicates that a greater percentage of younger veterans than
older veterans plan to have cremation cremated remains scattered.

Table 8-11. Percent distribution of veterans by disposition of cremated
remains and age for veterans indicating cremation as a burial plan

  ----------------- ----------- --------- --------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                    Total       Less than 35 - 44   45 - 54     55 - 64     65 - 74     75 Years or
                                35 Years  Years     Years       Years       Years       Older

  Placed in a       7.5         2.5       7.0       6.5         6.0         10.0        11.3
  columbarium                                                                           

  Buried            18.8        6.0       10.5      13.0        18.4        23.4        36.7

  Scattered         64.7        84.0      72.3      72.6        67.3        55.7        43.5

  Some other        9.0         7.5       10.2      7.9         8.3         10.9        8.5
  arrangement                                                                           

  Total             100.0       100.0     100.0     100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0

  Number of         7,803,200   628,000   965,800   1,802,000   1,650,600   1,481,500   1,214,400
  veterans†                                                                             
  ----------------- ----------- --------- --------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred;
the total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans did not provide their age.

## 8.2.2 Burial in a National or State Veterans' Cemetery

The survey included the question, "Do you think you will be buried in
either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery?" Table 8-12 tabulates
responses for all veterans and includes information in terms of those
veterans who indicated that they were aware of this burial benefit and
those who were not.

Table 8-12. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran plans for burial
in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery and veteran awareness of
burial benefit

  ------------------ ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
                     All veterans      Veterans aware    Veterans not
                                       of\               aware of burial
                                       burial benefit    benefit

  Yes                14.1              18.7              7.4

  No                 55.3              52.8              59.0

  Undecided          10.0              8.5               12.0

  N/A                20.6              20.0              21.6

  Total              100.0             100.0             100.0

  Number of          25,196,000        14,812,500        10,272,300
  veterans†                                              
  ------------------ ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

NOTE: N/A are Veterans who have indicated cremation and that cremated
remains will NOT be buried or placed in a columbarium

About 14 percent of all veterans reported that they plan to be buried in
either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery. Veterans who are aware of
this burial program are about 2.5 times more likely to indicate plans to
be buried in either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery than are
veterans who are not aware of this program. This may indicate the
effectiveness of VA information and awareness programs on burial plans.

When veterans who are planning cremation and indicating plans to have
their cremated remains scattered are removed from the analysis, the
percentage of veterans planning burial in either a national or state
Veterans' Cemetery increases to nearly 18 percent (Table 8-13).

Table 8-13. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran plans for burial
in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery and veteran awareness of
burial benefits for veterans not planning to have their cremated remains
scattered

+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|                 | All veterans   | Veterans aware | Veterans not   |
|                 |                | of             | aware of       |
|                 |                |                | burial         |
|                 |                | burial         | benefits       |
|                 |                | benefits\*     |                |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| Yes             | 17.7           | 23.4           | 9.4            |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| No              | 69.7           | 66.0           | 75.3           |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| Undecided       | 12.6           | 10.6           | 15.3           |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| Total           | 100.0          | 100.0          | 100.0          |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| Number of       | 20,001,200     | 11,852,700     | 8,056,500      |
| veterans†       |                |                |                |
+-----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

\* Veterans indicating an awareness of at least one of the three burial
benefits

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

NOTE: This table only includes responses of those who indicated they
were not planning to have their cremated remains scattered after
cremation.

**Reasons for Wanting/Not Wanting to be Buried in a National or State
Veterans' Cemetery.** As a follow-up to the question, "Do you think you
will be buried in either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery,"
veterans responding with a "Yes" or a "No" are asked to clarify their
response by giving the main reasons for their answer. Veterans were able
to provide an unprompted free response to this question, and multiple
reasons were permitted. These responses were recorded in several
pre-established categorical responses for each item.

**Reasons for Wanting to be Buried in a National or State Veterans'
Cemetery.** Table 8-14 provides the tabulations of reasons provided by
veterans for wanting to be buried in either a national or state
Veterans' Cemetery. Table 8-14 also lists the pre-established categories
for recording the veteran responses. The most mentioned reason given for
wanting to be buried in either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery
was "honor of burial in a National Shrine." It was mentioned by 47.2
percent of the veterans. "Cost" was the next most mentioned reason at
26.9 percent, followed by "friends or family buried there" (16.9
percent). "Quality of services" was only mentioned by 10 percent of the
veterans.

Table 8-14. Percent distribution of veterans by main reasons given for
wanting burial in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery

  -------------------------------------- --------------------------------
                                         Total

  The honor of burial in a national      47.2
  shrine                                 

  Cost                                   26.9

  Friends or family buried there         16.9

  Quality of services                    10.0

  Some other reason                      23.4

  Number of veterans†                    3,545,600
  -------------------------------------- --------------------------------

† Estimate of number of veterans is rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one reason.

NOTE: This table only includes responses of those who indicated they
were planning to be buried in a national or state veterans cemetery.

**Reasons for Not Wanting to be Buried in a National or State Veterans'
Cemetery.** Table 8-15 summarizes veterans' reasons for not wanting to
be buried in either a national or state Veterans' Cemetery. The most
mentioned reason given for not wanting to be buried in either a national
or state Veterans' Cemetery was "wanted location close to other family
members." It was mentioned by 44.6 percent of the veterans. "Made other
arrangements" was the next most mentioned reason at 41.2 percent.
Remaining reasons were mentioned by less than 10 percent of the
veterans.

Table 8-15. Percent distribution of veterans by main reasons given for
not wanting burial in a national or state Veterans' Cemetery

  ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------
                                                    Total

  Wanted location close to other family members     44.6

  Made other arrangements                           41.2

  Didn't know eligibility criteria                  8.6

  Veterans' cemetery too far away                   6.6

  Didn't know how to make arrangements with VA      2.4

  VA services don't accommodate religious           0.7
  preferences                                       

  Too difficult to make arrangements with VA        0.6

  Wanted services that weren't available at         0.3
  Veterans' cemetery                                

  Quality of service                                0.2

  Unable to make advance arrangements with VA       0.2

  Some other reason                                 15.5

  Number of veterans†                               13,933,000
  ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

† Estimate of number of veterans is rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one reason.

NOTE: This table only includes responses of those who indicated they
were not planning to be buried in a national or state Veterans'
Cemetery.

#### 8.2.3 Veteran Plans for Use of a VA-provided Headstone or Marker

Table 8-16 tabulates responses to the item, "Do you think you will have
your burial place marked by a headstone or marker provided by the VA?"
These responses are tabulated first for all veterans and then in terms
of those veterans who indicated that they were aware of this burial
benefit and those who were not.

Table 8-16. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran plans for use of
a VA-provided headstone or marker and veteran awareness of burial
benefit

  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
                    All veterans      Veterans aware    Veterans not
                                      of\               aware of burial
                                      burial benefit    benefit

  Yes               33.5              44.9              24.5

  No                29.7              24.8              33.6

  Undecided         16.2              12.5              19.0

  N/A               20.6              17.8              22.9

  Total             100.0             100.0             100.0

  Number of         25,196,000        11,140,300        13,959,500
  veterans†                                             
  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

NOTE: N/A are Veterans who have indicated cremation and that cremated
remains will NOT be buried.

As shown in Table 8-16, about 33 percent of all veterans indicate plans
to have their burial place marked by a headstone or marker provided by
VA. Veterans who are aware of this burial program are about 1.8 times
more likely to indicate their intent to use it than are veterans who are
not aware of this program; an indication perhaps of the effectiveness of
VA information and awareness programs on burial plans.

When the data are tabulated just for the population of possible users
(i.e., veterans not planning to have their cremated remains scattered),
the percentage of veterans planning to have their burial place marked by
a headstone or marker provided by the VA increases to 42.2 percent.
About 20 percent of the veterans who could be considered possible users
of this benefit indicate that they are undecided about whether or not
they would use this benefit (Table 8-17).

Table 8-17. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran plans for use of
a VA-provided headstone or marker and veteran awareness of burial
benefits for veterans not planning to have their cremated remains
scattered

  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
                    All veterans      Veterans aware    Veterans not
                                      of\               aware of burial
                                      burial benefit    benefit

  Yes               42.2              54.6              31.8

  No                37.4              30.2              43.5

  Undecided         20.4              15.2              24.7

  Total             100.0             100.0             100.0

  Number of         20,001,200        9,153,200         10,763,200
  veterans†                                             
  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

† Estimate of number of veterans is rounded to the nearest hundred; the
total estimate is larger than the sum of the groups because some
veterans either refused or did not know the answer to the question about
awareness of the benefit.

NOTE: This table only includes responses from those who indicated they
were not planning to have their cremated remains scattered after
cremation.

####  Reasons for Not Planning to Use a VA-provided Headstone or Marker

As a follow-up to the question "Do you think you will have your burial
place marked by a headstone or marker provided by the VA?" veterans
responding with a "No" were asked to clarify their response by giving
their main reasons for not planning to use this particular benefit.

Table 8-18 indicates that approximately 42 percent of veterans who
indicated that they would not use this benefit reported that they had
"made other arrangements" as a reason for not planning to mark their
burial place with a headstone or marker provided by VA.

Table 8-18. Percent distribution of veterans by main reasons given for
not planning to use a VA-provided headstone or marker

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------------------
                                                 Total

  Made other arrangements                        42.3

  Didn't know about markers and headstones for   35.9
  veterans                                       

  Want headstone similar to other family members 13.7

  Doesn't like VA markers or headstones          4.0

  Number of veterans†                            7,486,100
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------------------

† Estimate of number of veterans is rounded to the nearest hundred;
percent estimates will not sum to 100 because veterans could indicate
more than one reason.

NOTE: This table only includes responses from those who indicated they
were not planning to use a VA‑provided headstone or marker.

About 36 percent of these veterans indicated that they "didn't know
about markers and headstones for veterans" as a reason for not planning
to mark their burial place with a VA-provided headstone or marker.

#### 8.3 Understanding Veteran Burial Benefits

As a measure of their understanding of their burial benefits, veterans
were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "I
thoroughly understand the veteran benefits available to me." The
response scale is a 5-point "Strongly agree" through "Strongly disagree"
scale with a mid-point of "Neither agree nor disagree."

Table 8-19 summarizes responses to the item measuring veteran
understanding of burial benefits. This table includes data for veterans
who indicated that they were aware of their burial benefits (i.e., aware
of at least one of the three programs), as well as data for veterans who
did not indicate an awareness of any VA burial benefits.

Table 8-19. Percent distribution of veterans by veteran understanding of
veteran burial benefits and veteran awareness of burial benefits

  ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
                         All veterans     Veterans aware   Veterans not
                                          of\              aware of burial
                                          burial           benefits
                                          benefits\*       

  Strongly agree         6.3              8.4              1.9

  Agree                  26.7             34.8             10.6

  Neither agree nor      17.2             18.4             14.9
  disagree                                                 

  Disagree               26.9             24.3             32.1

  Strongly disagree      18.3             10.3             34.4

  Did not answer or did  4.6              3.8              6.1
  not know                                                 

  Total                  100.0            100.0            100.0

  Number of veterans†    25,196,000       16,820,700       8,375,400
  ---------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------

\* Veterans indicating an awareness of at least one of the three burial
benefits.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

About 33 percent of veterans reported that they thoroughly understand
("strongly agree" or "agree") the veteran burial benefits available to
them, while 45 percent indicated that they do not thoroughly understand
("disagree" or "strongly disagree") the veteran burial benefits
available to them. As would be expected, veterans aware of these
programs are more likely to understand them. This is a possible
indication that VA burial benefit awareness programs are also
informative.

### 8.3.1 Ease or Difficulty in Obtaining Information about Veteran Burial Benefits

As a measure of the veteran's perception about how easy or difficult it
would be to obtain information about veteran burial benefits, the
veteran is asked, "If your family needed to get information about
veteran burial benefits, how easy or difficult do you think it would be
for them to find it?" The response scale is a 5-point "very easy"
through "very difficult" scale with a mid-point of "neither easy nor
difficult."

Table 8-20 provides the responses to the item measuring a veteran's
perception of the ease or difficulty of obtaining burial benefits
information. In addition to tabulations for all veterans, Table 8-20
includes data for veterans who indicated that they were aware of their
burial benefits (i.e., aware of at least one of the three programs), and
data for veterans who did not indicate an awareness of any VA burial
benefits.

Table 8-20. Percent distribution of veterans by ability to obtain
information about veteran burial benefits and veteran awareness of
burial benefits

  ----------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
                          All veterans    Veterans aware  Veterans not
                                          of\             aware of burial
                                          burial          benefits
                                          benefits\*      

  Very easy               11.6            14.8            5.3

  Easy                    33.7            38.8            23.4

  Neither easy nor        11.8            11.8            11.9
  difficult                                               

  Difficult               27.2            23.2            35.2

  Very difficult          11.7            8.0             19.0

  Did not answer or did   4.0             3.4             5.2
  not know                                                

  Total                   100.0           100.0           100.0

  Number of veterans†     25,196,000      16,820,700      8,375,400
  ----------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------

\* Veterans indicating an awareness of at least one of the three burial
benefits.

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred

About 45 percent of all veterans indicated that they thought it would be
easy or very easy to obtain information about veteran burial programs,
while approximately 39 percent indicated that they thought it would be
difficult to very difficult to obtain information about veteran burial
benefits. This finding does not seem to be influenced by veteran
awareness of VA burial programs. Slightly more than one half (53.6
percent) of the veterans who indicated an awareness of veteran burial
programs also reported that they thought it would be easy or very easy
to obtain information about veteran burial benefits. About an equal
proportion (54.2 percent) of the veterans who did not indicate an
awareness of veteran burial programs also indicated that they thought it
would be difficult to very difficult to obtain information about veteran
burial benefits. The finding regarding the ease of difficulty in
obtaining VA burial information is probably more influenced by the fact
that older veterans seem to be more confident that it would be easy to
very easy to obtain information about burial benefits than younger
veterans (Table 8-21), and older veterans represent a greater proportion
of the veteran population.

Table 8-21. Percent distribution of veterans by ability to obtain
information about veteran burial benefits and age group

  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                    All veterans Less than   35 - 44     45 - 54     55 - 64     65 - 74     75 years or
                                 35 years    years       years       years       years       older

  Very easy         11.6         7.8         9.5         10.5        11.0        14.3        14.3

  Easy              33.7         26.2        26.3        31.6        32.9        38.1        41.7

  Neither easy nor  11.8         18.4        15.3        13.8        12.4        8.4         6.8
  difficult                                                                                  

  Difficult         27.2         31.2        30.4        29.2        27.0        25.3        22.5

  Very difficult    11.7         15.2        16.5        12.9        13.4        8.5         6.2

  Did not answer or 4.0          1.2         2.0         2.2         3.3         5.4         8.5
  did not know                                                                               

  Total             100.0        100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0       100.0

  Number of         25,196,000   2,288,600   3,030,300   5,415,100   4,946,000   5,256,400   4,116,100
  veterans†                                                                                  
  ----------------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

† Estimates of number of veterans are rounded to the nearest hundred.

[^1]: Burial flags are provided by the Veterans Benefits Administration
    (VBA)