Veterans Services

Veterans and their families have earned recognition at the end of life, and much of it goes unclaimed simply because families do not know it is there. Parker & Burns Funeral Home helps DeMotte and Jasper County families arrange military funeral honors, understand what burial benefits their loved one may qualify for, and file the paperwork with the Department of Veterans Affairs. We provide a $500 discount to our veterans with a DD-214 or honorable discharge certificate and our first responders. Whether your family chooses burial or cremation, a full funeral or something quiet, military honors can be part of it.

Military Funeral Honors

Any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable is entitled to military funeral honors at no cost to the family. The core ceremony includes at least two uniformed service members, the folding and presentation of the United States flag to the next of kin, and the playing of Taps. Local honor guards and veterans organizations, including American Legion and VFW posts, often take part and may add a rifle salute or their own ritual. We make the request on your family's behalf and coordinate the timing with the cemetery or the service location.

Eligible veterans may be buried in a national cemetery at no cost, which typically covers the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, perpetual care, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Spouses and dependent children are often eligible as well. Options serving northwest Indiana families include Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, Marion National Cemetery in Marion, Indiana, and the Indiana Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Madison. If your family prefers a local cemetery, a government headstone or marker is still available at no charge, and in some cases a partial VA burial allowance may apply. We will tell you honestly what your family qualifies for.

Almost every veterans benefit starts with the discharge paperwork, usually a DD-214. If your family cannot find it, we can help you request a copy from the National Personnel Records Center, though it does take time, which is one good reason to locate it before it is needed. We file the applications for the burial flag, the government marker, and the Presidential Memorial Certificate, and we can point surviving spouses toward VA survivor benefits such as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and Survivors Pension. We do not guess at eligibility; we help you get the questions to the right office.