Jon,
Most of the bronze markers in this area are ordered BEFORE the private
marker is in place. You must have something to mount the bronze marker
to, so they order the granite (or other) stone to mount it to, then have
the other side engraved. The rules read:
"Arrangements for setting a Government-furnished headstone or marker in a
private cemetery are the applicant's responsibility and all placement costs
are at private expense."
Since the placement cost is at private expense, what you have on the OTHER
side if the stone you purchased to mount it to is up to you. You may
wish to try to order it again. You can find the information here:
Several years ago I tried to get a bronze plaque for my
Grandfather's
grave from the Veteran's Administration showing his service in the Navy
during World War I. In short, I was refused because I told the truth about
him already having a private stone which only shows his name and years of
birth and death. Now, I know that their policy was only to give out stones
to veterans who would go unmarked and I support that, but if you stand at
his grave and look in any direction you can see tens if not hundreds of
bronze plaques mounted on, near or close to their private headstones. My
question was at the time, how did they do this and why can't I. I am sure
that not all of the veterans here and millions more across the country did
not have a private stone when they ordered their veterans stone or plaque.
In fact, some of them had to be there because they are even glued to the
back of private stones.
Now, how do you do this? Well, you lie and you say that you don't have a
stone or easier yet you get the undertaker to lie for you, (they do that
you know), because at the time you are probably grieving and he is
handling it all for a fee including the payment from the County Auditor to
set the government stone or plaque. Or if you want to be really good, you
order the government stone first and then you don't have to lie when it
asks you if you already have a private stone and then of course the
private stone gets there first because it takes forever to get one from
the government.
Anyway, my point is that it is done everywhere, all across this nation.
Just count the number of bronze plaques alongside private stones that are
placed in your city cemetery next Memorial Day. All illegally provided at
taxpayer's expense. They have a wonderful business going on somewhere,
from the monument company contracted with the government to the
undertakers, all the way down to the County Auditor who passes out the
money for setting the stone. And don't get me wrong, I think that any
veteran is entitled to one, if not two, but after many years of letter
writing back and forth to the Veteran's Administration about this, which
also included a letter to Sen. Dick Lugar, who by the way was a close and
personal friend of my grandfather's, I finally got an answer from the
Veteran's Administration on how to obtain a government plaque, which for
all practical purposes says, YOU LIE!! At one point, I even corresponded
with a TV news magazine about the problem, wanting to bust the whole thing
open, but there is no one that is going to take on the veterans of this
country and I don't blame them.
But, in the meantime, because I am honest my grandfather's grave does not
have a bronze plaque. O.K., I was satisfied with that until now.
Effective January 1, 2002 for all new burials of veterans with a private
stone, a government stone or plaque will also be provided. Yea! See the
Veterans Administration website. I can only think that I had something to
do with that. Yeah, right. But, what about the veterans that died prior to
this that did not get a government stone? Are they entitled to less? What
they did was cover their own tracks because they knew for years that what
was going on was illegal, but they hated to lose that stone business so
they made it legal. And, of course, at taxpayer's expense.
Well, unless I have my grandfather reinterred somewhere, steal his stone
or become really dishonest and lie to the Veteran's Administration my
grandfather will not have a bronze plaque like everyone else to denote his
military service. I just thought it would kind of be nice. Bureaucracy at
its finest!
Jon Andrews
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