The Department of Veterans Affairs have announced that three states now have specific sections for veterans to have “green” burials. These are final resting places that will have a lesser environmental impact than traditional methods. These methods include cremation or burial without embalming fluids (story HERE).

While these policies are fine. So many more challenges for veterans looking to rest at these cemeteries remain. Such as a convoluted process for seeking placement and arrangements in doing so.

You can plan ahead to be buried at a national cemetery, but you’ll find yourself in the same digital maze, bordered by red tape that you’ll get when you try to apply for all of your other benefits. Eligibility is unclear, and many veterans are already struggling to keep a roof over their heads, let alone be able to ponder what the rest of their eternity looks like.

What needs to be done, is making the entire process easier to navigate. Not adding extras to a process that aren’t necessarily important to many veterans. The legislation does appear to also add restrictions, such as what kinds of headstones can be used. In that regard, we’re going in the wrong direction.

When the VA revisits burials, let’s hope they’ll do so with an approach that looks to make the operation more transparent and more accommodating to all veterans.

It’s also important to know that it will be our loved ones that have to take care of the arrangements, and they already face enough hurdles to clear while grieving.

Green burials are fine. But so many other challenges remain.

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