NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
National Personnel Records Center
St. Louis, Missouri  63132-5100
NPRC 1865.42D
June 13, 1994


 SUBJECT:  Burial requests from national cemeteries

1. Purpose.  This memorandum issues instructions for preparing verification of service needed by national cemeteries to authorize burial and to inscribe a suitable marker or headstone for the grave.

2. Cancellation.  NPRC 1865.42C is canceled.

3. Reasons for revision.  This memorandum is revised to reflect the fact that the responsibility for obtaining eligibility information for burial has been decentralized and is transferred from the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery System, Washington, DC, to three field offices at Jefferson Barracks, Calverton, and Riverside national cemeteries.  Also included in the change is the proper procedure for handling the NA Form 13086, Verbal or Telephone Inquiry; a list of wartime service dates; clarification of eligibility for burial in Arlington National Cemetery; and the need to prepare a written response for Arlington National Cemetery.

4. Applicability.  The provisions of this memorandum are applicable to the correspondence sections of NCPMA, NCPMF, NCPMN, and NCPMR and also to the Outgoing Mail Unit.

5. Instructions.  This memorandum provides instructions for preparing service verification needed by the National Cemetery System (NCS) and Arlington National Cemetery.

6. Background.

     a. The Federal Government provides a gravesite, burial, and grave marker or headstone without cost to veterans, and to their dependents, if the last period of active service ended under conditions other than dishonorable, and if the veteran completed the required period of service.  Headstones and markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased, the years of birth and death, and branch of service.  Optional items that also may be inscribed are:  military grade, rank, or rate; war service (such as "World War II"); months and days of birth and death; an emblem reflecting one's beliefs; valor awards received; and the Purple Heart.  The NCS, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is responsible for administering the national cemeteries  under its jurisdiction.  Arlington National Cemetery, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, is responsible for administering its own activities.  Burial is authorized based on the service verification transcribed from the veteran's official service record.

     b. The need for obtaining military data from the official military service records has diminished since the passage of Public Law 93-43, which changed the eligibility requirement for burial in a national cemetery from honorable termination of the veteran's last period of active duty to a period of active service which terminated other than dishonorably.

     c. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy provides that the NCS should utilize service data in the VA records to the maximum extent possible, and should contact NPRC only if the VA has not previously obtained verification of service from the official military records.  The initial contact to obtain service data is made to the VA Regional Office or Records Processing Center, St. Louis, whichever has the veteran's claim file in its possession.

     d. When the NCS is unable to obtain a separation document or verify the service following the above procedure, a telephone call is directed to the National Personnel Records Center.

7. Forms.  This memorandum provides for the use of the following forms:

 NA Form 13008, Loan or Transfer of Records.
 NA Form 13079, Verification of Military Service.
 NA Form 13086, Verbal or Telephone Inquiry.
 NA Form 13105, NPRC Search Request and Reply.
 NA Form 13131, Important Notice.
 

DAVID L. PETREE
Director


1. Telephone requests and responsibilities involved.  The cemeteries are responsible for checking their Beneficiary Identification and Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) on all burials before contacting NPRC for service verification.  NPRC is not involved when a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) record is located through BIRLS.  NPRC is required to process only those requests for which the cemeteries are unable to obtain information. Telephone inquiries are received from Jefferson Barracks, Calverton, Riverside, and Arlington national cemeteries.  The National Cemetery System (NCS), Washington, DC, will contact NPRC on special requests such as those with  Congressional interest or of a sensitive nature.  The person accepting the call from the cemetery prepares the NA Form 13086, Verbal or Telephone Inquiry, in triplicate.  When necessary, probe the computerized NPRC Registry File System to identify a records registry location.  If a record has been identified in our system, annotate the registry number on the NA Form 13086 (Registry Number/Records Block); or if the record identified is an auxiliary record prepare an NA Form 13105, NPRC Search Request and Reply.  Affix a red tag to the original and one copy of the request form.  The inquiry is hand-carried to the search and file section.  The third copy of the form is used as a suspense or control copy.

If we are unable to identify a record, reconstruct military data, or we find that the record is charged out of file to the Army Reserve Personnel Center or an agency outside 9700 Page Avenue, the lead technician or supervisor promptly telephones the appropriate cemetery.

When the record or auxiliary record is received in the correspondence section, the correspondence technician (C-4) reviews the records and prepares the response.  When service data has been reconstructed from auxiliary records the technician creates a file folder which is accessioned into the registry file.  All completed responses are given to the lead technician or supervisor who telephonically verifies service data to the cemetery.

2. Form of reply.  NA Form 13079, Verification of Military Service, is used for reply to the telephone inquiry.  Outgoing Mail Unit personnel mail the completed form to the office checked on the top of the form.

3. Number of copies and distribution of NA Form 13079.  An original and two copies are required for the following distribution:

     a. Original (#1) cemetery.

     b. First copy (#2) for unit suspense file.  Destroy the suspense file copy when no longer needed for          follow-up telephone requests.

     c. Second copy (#3) for the service record.  Attach the original NA Form 13086, to the service record copy of the NA Form 13079.

(1)  Items of service to be entered.  The captions on code lines A  through J identify the items of service to be entered.  (Furnish the SSN only if shown in the record.)  If service verification is requested for burial of the spouse, dependent, or minor child, make a statement to that effect in code line A.  Code line K provides additional space for further explanation as needed.  Furnish the dates and character of all periods of active service, regardless of the character of separation/discharge from last period of active duty.  In addition, if the period of active duty was subsequent to September 7, 1980, and less than 24 consecutive months, furnish the reason for separation or discharge along with the character on code line F.
If the veteran served two or more periods of continuous active service and the last discharge is Dishonorable, Other Than Honorable, Under Conditions Other Than Honorable, Undesirable, or Bad Conduct, the C-4 technician gives the completed response to the lead technician or supervisor for further action.  Either the supervisor, lead technician, or C-6 technician will determine if the veteran was eligible for complete separation.  (See1865.38, Fig. 3, Rule 14, for instructions on processing non-fire related inquiries, and 1865.107, Fig. 2-7, for processing fire related inquiries.)  If the veteran served only one period of active service ending in one of the above discharges, furnish the reason for separation along with the character.  See figure 1 for sample of a completed NA Form 13079.
(2) Code I - War Service.  Active service performed during the periods listed below constitutes war service for this purpose:
 
Mexican Border:  May 1, 1916, to April 5, 1917
World War I: April 6, 1917, to July 1, 1921
World War II: December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946
Korean Conflict: June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955
Vietnam: August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975
Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990, through a date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation

If applicable, indicate if veteran served in the Army or Army Air Corps in WWII.

(3) Verifying additional data to the Arlington National Cemetery.  In-ground burial in Arlington National Cemetery requires active duty service and either retired in pay status, former prisoner of war (POW) status (defined as a person serving on active duty who was forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by an enemy government or foreign government or its agents, or a hostile force, during a period of war or under circumstances which the Secretary finds comparable), Silver Star, Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Cross, or the Medal of Honor.  In addition to verifying active duty service, furnish verification of the above medals on code line J and POW status on code line K.

Eligibility for inurnment of cremated remains in Arlington's columbarium is the same as eligibility for burial in the VA national cemeteries.

(4) Additional information for Code K.  The technician enters any additional pertinent information to verify all periods of active service or clarify information provided.  If information furnished in items B through J were taken from an alternate source, make a statement to that effect in code line K.
 (5) Active duty for training (ACDUTRA) only.  Complete code line A, code line B (only if the SN or SSN is not known), and in code line K state "active duty for training only," and include the dates.

The archives technician enters his/her name, office symbol, and current date on the bottom portion of a completed NA Form 13079.

4. Army retiree record erroneously in NPRC custody.  If a burial request is received on an Army record that was retired to NPRC erroneously, first process the request and dispatch reply in the normal manner.  Then take the following action:

     a. Death of retiree.  Charge the record on a loan basis to the ARPERCEN, Casualty Branch, VSA-C.  Transmit the record to ARPERCEN using NA Form 13008, Loan or Transfer of Records.  Write on the transmittal "Record transferred to NPRC in error."

     b. Death of next of kin of a living retiree.  Prepare an NA Form 13131, Important Notice, showing the record was transferred to "ARPERCEN, (VSA-C)."  Transmit the record to ARPERCEN using the NA Form 13008.  Write on the transmittal:  "Living retiree--record transferred to NPRC in error."