BURIED VETERANS' RECORDS NOW AVAILABLE ON WEB
By Suzanne Gamboa
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - VA has made it easier and faster for the public to get answers about family
history, old war buddies or famous war heroes. The agency put on the Web 3.2 million
records for veterans buried at 120 national cemeteries since the Civil War.
The VA's Nationwide Gravesite Locator, at
http://www.cem.va.gov, also has records for
some state veterans cemeteries and burials in Arlington National Cemetery since 1999.
Joe Nosari, VA's deputy chief information officer for Memorial Affairs, said the
records used to be on paper and microfilm. Private companies have put some of the
information online and charged for it, but the VA information is free, he said.
The VA's gravesite navigator includes names, dates of birth and death, military
service dates, service branch and rank if known, cemetery information and grave location
in the cemetery. The VA will withhold some information, such as next of kin, for privacy
purposes.
The site will be updated daily. Annually, about 80,000 veterans are buried at national
cemeteries.
The VA also hopes to add records for veterans whose families requested grave markers from
the VA. Those markers may go to private cemeteries or cemeteries overseas.
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On the Net:
VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator:
http://www.cem.va.gov
AP-WS-04-12-04 1916EDT