State Veterans Cemetery: who may be buried there

It is a state cemetery, distinct from the National Cemetery in Bayamón, created under the law and following the logic of the federal program known as the Veteran State Cemetery Grant Program, developed in Section 404 of the Veterans Benefit Enhancement Act of 1998 (federal Public Law 105-368). Per the law’s statement of motives, that program provides one hundred percent (100%) of the cemetery’s construction costs and the equipment to operate it in perpetuity, and the Federal Government contributes one hundred fifty (150) dollars for each veteran buried in the state cemetery, but requires the state to provide the funds to acquire the land and cover operating costs. That is why the site is selected by the Office of the Veterans Advocate within the Municipality of Aguadilla and approved by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, meeting all the guidelines of the United States Veterans Affairs Administrator.

Article 5 lists three groups. First, any veteran or member of the United States Armed Forces who dies under honorable conditions while serving, or who served as an active member and whose service ended. Second, any qualifying member or immediate family member of the veteran, subject to a fee the Veterans Advocate sets — and it is the Advocate who establishes, by regulation, which members or family members qualify. Third, those who served honorably as members of the Puerto Rico National Guard or the United States Reserve who, at the time of death, qualified to receive retirement, or qualified but were not receiving it for being under sixty (60). The law adds that the bodies of those who were eligible and are buried elsewhere may be buried in the Cemetery, and that to those ends a person with legal authority to carry out the transfer shall be asked to do so.

• For the veteran: having died under honorable conditions while serving in the United States Armed Forces, or having served as an active member with service ended.Verified against the official source
• For Puerto Rico National Guard or Reserve: having served honorably and, at time of death, qualifying for retirement — or qualifying without receiving it for being under 60.Verified against the official source
• For family: being a qualifying member or immediate family member of the veteran under the Veterans Advocate’s regulation, and paying the fee they set.Verified against the official source
• For a transfer from another cemetery: that a person with legal authority to carry out the transfer requests it.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Tell the two cemeteries apart

   The National Cemetery is in Barrio Hato Tejas, Municipality of Bayamón, and veterans have the right to be buried there free of cost. The State Veterans Cemetery this law creates is in the Municipality of Aguadilla, and was meant so veterans of the west, south and northwest have a cemetery nearby where they can be honorably and worthily buried. They are two different options, with different administrations.

2. 2

   Step 2: Confirm eligibility through the right channel

   The law lists the eligible groups but leaves it to the Veterans Advocate to establish the concrete eligibility criteria and, for family members, which ones qualify and what fee they pay. That regulation is promulgated after holding public hearings, per Article 3(f). In other words: the law tells you who is eligible in principle; the Advocate tells you how it is proven and what it costs for a family member.

3. 3

   Step 3: Know there is no fee for the veteran

   The law says it in one sentence: "Nor shall there be any fee for those veterans who qualify". The fee mentioned in Article 5(b) is for the veteran’s member or immediate family member, and the Advocate sets it. The same provision closes with another rule worth having at hand: there shall be no discrimination by race, color, origin, sex or creed.

4. 4

   Step 4: If your relative is already buried elsewhere

   The law contemplates transfer: the bodies of those who were eligible and are buried elsewhere may be buried in the Cemetery, and to those ends a person with legal authority to carry out the transfer shall be asked to do so. The law does not describe that procedure; it is exactly the point at which to ask at the Office of the Veterans Advocate.

The Office of the Veterans Advocate sets the directives, establishes eligibility criteria and family fees, and promulgates the regulation after public hearings. The Municipality of Aguadilla is in charge of establishing, supervising and maintaining the Cemetery, following those directives. The law also requires the Advocate to render an annual operating report to the Governor and the Legislature.

• Confusing it with the National Cemetery in Bayamón: they are two different cemeteries, and this one is in Aguadilla.
• Believing there is a charge for the veteran: the law expressly says there shall be no fee for qualifying veterans.
• Assuming family is automatically included: they qualify under the Advocate’s regulation and pay the fee it sets.
• Ruling out someone who served in the National Guard or Reserve without checking whether they qualified for retirement at death.
• Thinking a prior burial elsewhere closes the door: the law allows transfer by a person with legal authority.
• Looking in the law for the address, hours or procedure: they are not there, they are in the Advocate’s regulation.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Procurador del Veterano Puertorriqueño

  Procurador del Veterano

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov