Veterans Overview
To those who proudly serve...
First and foremost, let us say thank you for your service to our great country and your fellow man. It is truly our honor to serve those who proudly serve.
We hope the enclosed information will help to answer your questions about some of the burial and cremation options available to you at our funeral home. In addition to providing funeral and cremation care, we also help families apply for all Veteran's and Social Security benefits available, arrange for military honors, and assist with obtaining life insurance benefits. Our licensed funeral directors and staff stand ready to assist if you have additional questions. Please contact us at (651)464-3556.
At Mattson Funeral Home, we are dedicated to providing excellent and compassionate care For Those Who Serve. We believe you deserve the very best.
For your convenience and cost savings, we offer several burial and cremation options for you to choose from. All of our burial & cremation options are also available to the spouse of eligible veterans.
All of our options include:
- Full Military Honors
- Military Gun Salute
- Playing of Taps
- United States Flag and/or Personal Flag Presentation
- Framed Presidential Memorial Certificate
- Embroidered lapel flags for casketbearers
- Professional Services of Funeral Director & Staff
- Transfer of loved one into our care
- Securing permits and filing legal documents
- Use of funeral coach and/or service vehicle
- Transportation to cemetery within a 30-mile radius, which includes Ft. Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN.
We Encourage Pre-Planning
The most caring thing you can do for your family is to plan your wishes in advance. Locating important documents that initiate the entire benefit process is often a difficult issue for surviving family members. To establish eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery, the family must provide: the Veteran's discharge document; report of casualty; or the Veteran's full name; military rank; branch of service; dates of entry and discharge; serial, Social Security, and/or VA claim numbers; date and place of birth; and date of death. It is important for your family to know where this information is safely kept. Our funeral home will also be glad to keep copies of these records in your pre-arrangement file.
Ask about our 10% merchandise discount for veterans and spouses.
Burial in a National Cemetery
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements and were discharged under conditionsother than dishonorable. Their spouse, widow or widower, minor children, and, under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities, may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran. Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or while performing training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
This includes:
- Gravesite
- Grave liner
Note: A grave liner does not seal like a burial vault. If you choose to purchase a burial vault, you may be entitled to a cost allowance. Veteran benefits do not include an allowance for urn vaults. - Opening and closing of the grave
- Marker
- Marker setting
- Perpetual care as part of a national shrine.
- Military Honors
Military Honors may include a rifle salute, playing of Taps, and the presentation of the US Flag.
A Few Exceptions:
There are circumstances that may prevent eligibility.
- Children 18 years of age or older arenot eligible to be buried at a National Cemetery unless they continue to be dependent due to mental or physical reasons.
- The spouse or children of a veteran may specify and/or notify a National Cemetery they do not wish to be buried there.
- In the case of divorce, the former spouse of the veteran gives up the right to be buried with the veteran.
- Certain other restrictions may apply. For more information, please visit www.VA.gov
The basic Military Funeral Honors (MFH) ceremony consists of the folding and presentation of the United States flag to the veterans' family and the playing of Taps. The ceremony is performed by a funeral honors detail consisting of at least two members of the Armed Forces.
The Funeral Honors rendered to you or your veteran will be determined by the status of the veteran. The type of Funeral Honors may be Full Military Honors, 7 Person Detail or a Standard Honors Team Detail.
At least one of the funeral honors detail will be from the Armed Force in which the deceased veteran served. Taps may be played by a bugler or, if a bugler is not available, by using a quality recorded version. Military Funeral Honor Teams may act as Pall Bearers if requested by the veteran/family.
Who is eligible for Military Funeral Honors?
- Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
- Former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Who is not eligible for Military Funeral Honors?
- Any person separated from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions or whose character of service results in a bar to veteran's benefits.
- Any person who was ordered to report to an induction station, but was not actually inducted into military service.
- Any person discharged from the Selected Reserve prior to completing one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service for reasons other than a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
- Any person convicted of a Federal or State capital crime sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
How do I establish veteran eligibility?
The preferred method is the DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. If the DD Form 214 is not available, any discharge document showing other than dishonorable service can be used. The DD Form 214 may be obtained by filling out a Standard Form 180 and sending it to:
National Personnel Records Center(NPRC)
9700 Page Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132
The Standard Form 180 may be obtained from the National Records Center or via the following web site: http://www.archives.gov/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf
Is anyone else eligible to receive funeral honors?
Yes. Members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as members of a Uniformed Service, are also eligible to receive funeral honors.
For NOAA personnel, eligibility is established using NOAA Form 56-16, Report of Transfer or Discharge. If the family does not have a copy of the NOAA Form 56-16, it may by obtained by contacting the Chief, Officer Services Division, NOAA Commissioned Personnel Center at (301) 713-7715. or by writing:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Commissioned Personnel Center
Chief, Officer Services Division (CPC1)
1315 East-West Highway, Room 12100
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
For PHS personnel, funeral honors eligibility is established using PHS Form 1867, Statement of Service (equivalent to the DD Form 214). If the family does not have a copy of the Statement of Service, it may be obtained by contacting the Privacy Coordinator for the Commissioned Corps at (240) 453-6041 or writing:
Division of Commissioned Personnel/HRS/PSC
Attention: Privacy Act Coordinator
5600 Fishers Lane
4-36
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Printable "For Those Who Serve" Handout
Click on the graphic on the left to download the file.
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| 343 North Shore Drive
| Forest Lake, MN 55025
| Tel: 1-651-464-3556
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