Burials (National Cemeteries)

REQUESTS FROM NATIONAL CEMETERIES. Telephone requests are received from Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (NC), Riverside NC, and Calverton NC, under the National Cemetery System (NCS), which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Inquiries are also received from Arlington National Cemetery, which is under the jurisidiction of the Department of the Army.

Verification of service is needed by the national cemeteries to authorize burial and to inscribe a suitable marker or headstone for the grave. The NCS is required to first utilize those records in the VA system before contacting NPRC for service verification. Our response is prepared on NA Form 13079, VERIFICATION OF MILITARY SERVICE, in triplicate. After this form is prepared, we contact the cemetery via telephone and verbally provide the service data shown on the form. Copies are then distributed as follows: Original copy is mailed to the cemetery; second copy is placed in the unit/team suspense file; third copy is filed in the military service record with the original telephone request form.

CODE A: NAME, SERVICE NUMBER, SSN, VA CLAIM NUMBER: Veteran’s complete name, shown as last, first, middle; if different from that provided in request, repeat the name: Doe, John James RPT Doe, John James. If burial is for other than veteran, show wife of/son of/daughter of, as shown in the request. Verify all service numbers and/or SSN, and VA claim number. If VA claim number is not available, show “none”.

CODE B: DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: show “Day, Month, Year”, and state (two letter abbreviation) ONLY. Use abbreviations EXACTLY as shown in the following examples: 12 MAR 62 MO; 5 SEP 28 CA; 31 DEC 34 MA. Record all other dates on form in this same format.

CODE D: DATE ENTERED LAST PERIOD OF ACTIVE DUTY: verify ONLY for last period of service here; prior service will be verified in the “remarks” section. (If active duty for training only, show “none”)

CODE E: DATE SEPARATED FROM LAST PERIOD OF ACTIVE DUTY: verify ONLY for last period of service.

CODE F: CHARACTER OF SEPARATION FROM LAST PERIOD OF SERVICE: enter exactly what is shown on separation document (if two continuous periods of service with final character of OTH, eligibility for complete separation must be provided in Code K; if veteran deserted, must also show date of return to military control in Code K)

CODE I: WAR SERVICE: check appropriate box only, dates are not required; dates of U.S wars, for VA purposes, are as follows:

Spanish American War	April 21, 1898 to July 15, 1903
Mexican Border Dispute	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 War	August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975
Persian Gulf War	August 2, 1990 to November 30, 1995

CODE J: MEDAL OF HONOR: if burial is for ARLINGTON CEMETERY verify if veteran was awarded ANY of the following: Medal of Honor, Silver Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Cross

CODE K: REMARKS
(1) Verify ALL prior service in this section.
(2) If service member performed no active duty other than training, provide statement in
        this section.
(3) If burial is for ARLINGTON CEMETERY, verify whether:
         a. veteran is retired in pay status
         b. veteran is a former prisoner of war (POW)
(4) Provide eligibility for complete separation in this section.

NOTE: Any information verified which is different from the information provided by the cemetery should be repeated.

BURIALS