Secretary Shinseki Announces New Gravesite Locator

For National Cemeteries and Veterans Buried in Private Cemeteries

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
has made the gravesites of more than 6.7 million Veterans easier to locate
using handheld devices with Internet capability, such as "smart phones."

"This innovative program continues VA's commitment to use the latest
technology to provide Veterans and their families with information they need,"
said Secretary Shinseki. "It will simplify and enhance the experience of many
who visit our national cemeteries."

The latest improvement builds upon a service begun in 2004, when VA introduced
an online nationwide gravesite locator, linked to its electronic burial
records, that helps people find the cemetery in which their loved one is
buried. The grave locations of Veterans and eligible family members buried in
national cemeteries, or whose graves are marked with a government headstone,
can already be found with desktop computers and at national cemetery kiosks.

The original gravesite locator -- http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov -- online
since April 2004, continues to help Veterans' families and others find the
cemeteries where relatives, ancestors or friends are buried. The new Web site
- http://m.va.gov/gravelocator -- is enhanced for viewing and browsing on
"smart phone" devices.

Users enter a name to search and click "Locate" to find where the loved one is
buried. Users can limit the search to a specific cemetery if that information
is known.

The Web site will provide the name of the cemetery and a grave location, offer
a link to a Google map and driving directions to the cemetery and, if the
deceased is buried in a national cemetery or state Veterans cemetery, provide
a link to a cemetery map to help find the section where the grave is located.

In addition to the more than 6.7 million records now available, VA continues
to add approximately 1,000 new records to the database each day.

In 2005, VA added to its database of national cemetery burial records the
locations of 1.9 million veterans whose graves were marked with a government
headstone since 1997. These are mostly private cemeteries. Burial records
with cemetery maps available are for burials in VA national cemeteries, state
Veterans cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery if the burials occurred
since 1999.

Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable,
their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national
cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible Veterans,
regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private
cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a
government headstone or marker. Families of eligible decedents may also order
a memorial headstone or marker when remains are not available for interment.

In the midst of the largest expansion since the Civil War, VA operates 130
national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers' lots and
monument sites. More than three million Americans, including Veterans of
every war and conflict, are buried in VA's national cemeteries on more than
18,000 acres of land.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from the Internet at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices
toll-free at (800) 827-1000.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-461-7600