When you’ve devoted your time and well-being in service of the US military, you become entitled to military honors with an Arlington service after you pass away. However, this can also extend to military burials of dependents in Arlington cemetery. But in this scenario, who is eligible for a dependent Arlington Service? Here’s some information to give an idea of who qualifies for this type of service and what details are important to know.
Qualified Dependents
In addition to the veteran who is serving or has served in the military, their spouse and children are the two parties eligible for a dependent service. The veteran’s spouse will remain eligible whether they pass on before or after the veteran themselves. Should the family’s veteran pass first, the widowed spouse is not disqualified from a dependent Arlington service even if they remarry.
Children of a veteran are eligible for a dependent service so long as they are unmarried and under the age of 21 or 23 years of age and a full-time student at an approved educational institution. Unmarried adult children who become physically or mentally disabled before the age of 21 also remain eligible due to their circumstances and continued dependency on their family.
Arlington Service Benefits
Like an Arlington service for a veteran, a dependent’s burial will come at no cost to the family. Instead, the costs of headstones and other necessities are covered by the government. The only responsibility that falls upon the veteran or next of kin is the task of organizing the service. Furthermore, like veterans, dependents can be given inurnment, burial, or cremation depending on the wishes of the family. They will also be offered many ceremonial benefits, including a memorial flag and presidential memorial certificate.
Terms of Eligibility
Now that we’ve identified who is eligible for a dependent Arlington service, there are a few other considerations to make to ensure dependents remain eligible. To begin, the veteran must not have been dishonorably discharged from service. Otherwise, they themselves will be disqualified from Arlington services and, by extension, so will their dependents. The dependents themselves also must not have a criminal record, as federal, state, and capital crimes and sex offenses will disqualify them from an Arlington service.
