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Kentucky's State Veterans Cemeteries
In 2004, Kentucky's state government moved to establish a series of high-profile, state of the art Veterans' Cemeteries to better serve both those that paid the ultimate price in the service of the Commonwealth and the country and those that gave parts of their lives to this very same mission that wish to be laid to rest in the place they fought to protect.
The mission of KDVA's Cemetery Branch is to ensure dignified interment for veterans in a sacred space that stands as a tribute to their service to the nation and the Commonwealth. KDVA currently operates five State Veterans Cemeteries across the state.
Kentucky State Veterans Cemeteries are open to the public from sun-up to sundown seven days a week. Normal business hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, not including state holidays. Interments take place on non-holiday weekdays only. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are reserved for families and loved ones of those interred to visit in peace and quiet.
Burial Benefits
Disclaimer-If you choose to apply for and receive the National Cemeteries Administrations COMMEMORATIVE URN AND PLAQUE, you will lose your eligibility for interment into one of Kentucky’s five state veteran cemeteries. Please contact your local state veteran cemeteries if you have questions.
Burial benefits available include a gravesite in any of our Kentucky's State Veterans Cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a Government headstone, marker or medallion, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate at no cost to the family. Some Veterans may also be eligible for burial allowances. Cremated remains are buried or inurned in state veteran cemetery in the same manner and with the same honors as casketed remains.
Burial benefits available for spouses and dependents buried in a state veteran cemetery include burial with the Veteran, perpetual care, and
the spouse or dependents' name and date of birth and death will be
inscribed on the Veteran's headstone, at no cost to the family. Eligible
spouses and dependents may be buried, even if they predecease the
Veteran.
Eligibility
According to Kentucky State Law, you do not have to be a resident of Kentucky in order to be eligible for burial within one of Kentucky's five-state veterans' cemeteries.
Who's eligible for burial in one of Kentucky's state veterans cemeteries?
Veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents may be
eligible for burial in a state veterans cemeteries, as well as other
benefits if they meet one of the requirements listed below.
One of these must be true. The person qualifying for burial benefits is:
- A Veteran who didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, or
- A service member who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, or
- The spouse or minor child of a Veteran, even if the Veteran died first, or
- In some cases, the unmarried adult dependent child of a Veteran.
If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact one of our state veterans cemeteries.
Services
Each Veterans' Cemetery provides the following services:
- Furnishing grave or columbarium space
- Opening and closing the grave
- Providing the interment site with perpetual care
- Supplying a suitable marker or headstone
- Furnishing an optional concrete grave liner for casketed burials
The above cemetery services are free to the veteran and there is a five hundred dollar spousal fee, not be paid until the time of death.