The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have added 300,000 veterans and service members from 27 military cemeteries to the Veterans Legacy Memorial, the VA said in a press release.
“The Veterans Legacy Memorial gives all of us a way to remember veterans and thank them for their service and contributions to our nation, even when we can’t visit their gravesite," said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Matt Quinn. "Expanding VLM to include veterans and service members in DoD-managed cemeteries is just the next step in achieving our goal of giving every veteran a digital memorial space...we encourage anyone to visit VA.gov/Remember to help commemorate the heroes who served and sacrificed for our nation.”
The Veterans Legacy Memorial is the first digital memorial in the country created to honor the memory of veterans buried in cemeteries maintained by the VA, those financed by VA grants, two national parks, and currently 27 military cemeteries under the control of the Department of Defense. Each of the 300,000 veterans will now have a personal page on VLM where friends, family, and others can write messages of support, upload photos, and share accomplishments, biographies, and historical documents related to their veteran, the news release said.
They will join the more than 4.5 million Veterans and service members who have already been memorialized on the VLM site at VA.gov/Remember. Arlington National Cemetery is home to the vast majority of the newly added veterans and service people, the release said. Of the 27 cemeteries, the Navy manages five, the Air Force manages four, and the Army manages 18, including Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery.
“We are honored to be part of this meaningful program that pays tribute to our nation’s heroes in such a personal way," said Executive Director of the Office of Army Cemeteries and Army National Military Cemeteries Karen Durham-Aguilera. "We look forward to this continued partnership so that more people can discover the extraordinary stories of service and sacrifice that make up the fabric of our country.”
