Presidential Memorial Certificate for Deceased Veterans - Information on Application Process

The family of any deceased, honorably discharged Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces is entitled to receive a Presidential Memorial Certificate presented by the United States government. The engraved paper certificate is signed by the current President and is sent to the family or friend to honor the memory of the Veteran.

It makes no difference if the Veteran served during war or peacetime and it is not a requirement that he or she died in active duty. The only stipulation is that they received an honorable discharge.

President John F. Kennedy initiated the Certificate program in 1962 and all Presidents since that time have followed suit.

Considering you are dealing with the government, it is an amazingly simple process. I spoke today with a representative at the Department of Veterans' Affairs that administers the program. She suggested you either visit your local VA office or go to their website to download the application which only asks for the name of the Veteran and your mailing address and phone number. You then fax the application along with the Veteran's discharge form DD214 and the death certificate. You do not have to be related to the Veteran to obtain the certificate and the application does not inquire about your relationship to the deceased.

Surprisingly, you can order more than one copy, however, they ask that you use good judgment when you request multiple copies. She advised the time frame for receiving the certificate is from 2 to 4 months and they currently have a backlog of over 7,000 requests. She said they will definitely honor your request, but to be patient. As the public has become aware of this program, the number of applications has increased dramatically.

I asked if there was a time limit for requesting the certificates or, for example, if the family or friend of someone that died in the Vietnam War could still request a certificate. She said there is no time restriction as long as you provide them with the form DD214 and the death certificate. All Presidential Memorial Certificates are signed by the current President and not the President that was in office during the time frame served by the Veteran.

The Presidential Memorial Certificate is a gold embossed, engraved certificate which expresses the country's grateful appreciation of the Veteran's service in the United States Armed Forces.

It would make an appropriate gift to someone who has lost a loved one or a friend that was a Veteran, whether the loss was recent or years ago. For genealogists, it would be a perfect addition to their genealogy research.

I hope you will take advantage of this wonderful service offered by our government. If you request a certificate or have received one in the past, please post your experiences here.

For information on burial in Arlington Cemetery, please read my hub at http://thelmac.hubpages.com/hub/Arlington-Cemetery