Some deceased veterans' parents to be accepted for national cemetery burials

The parents of certain deceased veterans will soon be allowed to be buried in national cemeteries.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will allow "biological or legally adoptive parents" to be interred "if the deceased veteran is a hostile casualty or dies from a training-related injury," states the Federal Register's final rule, to be published Tuesday.

"[R]ecognizing the unique burden on the surviving parents of fallen service members, the act provides burial eligibility to those parents whose unmarried veteran son or daughter dies due to combat or training-related injuries," the pre-published final rule says.

The action implements part of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 that was "enacted" on Oct. 13, 2010. The department also clarifies that "by limiting the circumstances under which a parent is eligible for burial," the act will ensure that "gravesites [will] not be taken from those who have earned the right to burial in a national cemetery by serving their country."

Parents would also be eligible if the veteran "is interred in a VA national cemetery in a gravesite with available space, and has no spouse or child who is buried, or surviving spouse or child who, upon death, may be eligible for burial, in a national cemetery."

Family members must be parents "of veterans who die on or after Oct. 7, 2001," and must have passed away "on or after Oct. 13, 2010" to be eligible, according to the final rule.