With Memorial Day 2021 approaching, VA’s National Cemetery Administration wants to remind people that the Veterans Legacy Memorial, or VLM, website is available as a resource to help pay tribute to Veterans who have passed away. VLM is a public online database memorializing the over 3.7 million Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries. With COVID-19 still present, VLM is an excellent way for people to honor our nation’s Veterans at the comfort of their own home.

Click here for VLM’s website: http://www.va.gov/remember.

In this episode of Borne the Battle, Air Force Veteran and Digital Services Officer for the National Cemetery Administration James LaPaglia talks about why he loves doing his job. He delves into the enhanced features that NCA staff plan to make available on VLM by Memorial Day. Features they plan to reopen include allowing users to submit:

• Photographs
• Historical documents
• Biographical information

VLM will also continue to allow users to leave a tribute on a Veteran’s page. Through a tribute, users can post a thoughtful message for future viewers to read.

And as per usual VLM practice, all submitted content will be reviewed by administrators before being posted. This ensures that all submissions comply with VLM standards and maintains the spirit of the website.

Users can also expect to see a “follow” feature come Memorial Day. With this, users can follow a Veteran’s page and get automatic email updates when new content appears on their profile.

Committed to making sure that no Veteran’s story goes unrecognized, NCA future plans include expanding the VLM database to include Veterans interred at state and tribal VA cemeteries, those managed by the military, private ones and many more.

With online platforms making it easier to honor our nation’s Veterans, LaPaglia said he hopes that this website becomes a place friends, families and strangers can use to share and preserve the stories and memories of those who served our country.

Borne the Battle Veteran of the Week:

• Army Veteran Peter Conover Hains (Civil War Veteran who served in WWI)

Additional Links:

• If you have questions regarding VLM, click here to read their FAQ. You can also find VLM Customer Support’s phone and email here.
• VA national cemeteries are allowing visitors but require adherence to safety measures. Click here to learn more.
• Memorial Day 2020 ceremonies were not open to the public because of COVID-19 concerns. However, ceremonies were all available virtually and recordings are available here.
• For eligibility requirements to be buried at a VA national cemetery, click here for more information.
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