Missouri has about 545,000 veterans and all of them are eligible to be buried in the new veterans’ cemetery being constructed outside Fort Leonard Wood, according to Stan Baughn, Director of Veterans Service Programs for the Missouri Veterans Commission.
Speaking during an April 28 forum on veterans’ issues sponsored by the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce, Baughn said his agency runs four veterans’ cemeteries — soon to be five, including the Fort Leonard Wood cemetery outside the Waggener Gate that leads to Waynesville.
Baughn said there’s no risk of the Fort Leonard Wood cemetery becoming overcrowded since most of those who are eligible for a veterans’ cemetery burial choose other options.
“The older generation of veterans generally already have a plot already bought someplace or they have a family plot,” Baughn said. “I think as the younger generation comes along and sees those cemeteries there, that they will consider those more in the future. I always expect the number to increase as the years go on because of changing demographics.”
While veterans may choose to be buried elsewhere for personal reasons, burial in a veterans’ cemetery is less expensive for veteran or their survivors, Baughn said, since there is no charge for the plot, for opening or closing of the grave, for the grave liner, for the monument, or for perpetual care. All those services are paid for as part of a veterans benefit, Baughn said.
“When you add all those things up, it saves at least $2,000; that’s another financial incentive for veterans,” Baughn said.
Spouses and young children of veterans are also eligible to be buried in the cemetery, he said.
Cut-rate fees don’t correspond to cut-rate service, Baughn said.
“It’s another one of those really good deals for veterans,” Baughn said. “A few weeks ago I was in Washington, and I had the privilege to go to Arlington Cemetery. Our cemeteries look better, I know it’s hard to believe, but they’re really, really exceptional places.”
There’s one “catch” — as with Arlington, veterans can’t reserve a specific plot where they want to be buried.
“You can’t say, ‘I want the third one from the left under the oak tree on the hill right there,’ Baughn said. “It’s as they come in, just like Arlington, right down the row.”
An exception involves spouses who are both veterans and wish to be buried side-by-side. Ordinarily spouses will share a single plot, but since all veterans are entitled to their own individual burial plots, a second plot will be reserved for surviving spouses who wish to be buried at a later date next to their spouse.
Responding to questions from Chamber President Steve Lynch, Baughn said the process to be buried in the veterans’ cemetery begins with filling out a “pre-certification” form that includes a copy of a veterans’ DD-214 or discharge document.
“You choose the funeral home that’s going to be making your final arrangements; the cemetery and the funeral home both know what your final wishes are as far as where you wish to be placed,” Baughn said.
Local community leaders lobbied for years to obtain a veterans’ cemetery for Fort Leonard Wood and Lynch thanked Baughn’s agency for administering it.
“We are certainly very honored as a community to have this cemetery next to what is a tremendous installation at Fort Leonard Wood, an area that is so patriotic,” Lynch said. “It’s going to be something that really enhances our area and not only that, but really in a certain way kind of showcases our feelings about our military and about our veterans and how proud we are of them.”