VA Adds Nearly 2 Million Records to Online Gravesite Locator

WASHINGTON (December 22, 2005) - The burial locations of more than 5
million veterans for whom the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
provided grave markers are now available on the Internet, as well as the
information inscribed on the markers.

Online since April 2004, the nationwide gravesite locator
(http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov )
helps veterans' families, former comrades-in-arms and others find the
graves of veterans.

VA recently added 1.9 million records for veterans buried primarily in
private cemeteries to its database. The gravesite locator previously
carried records on 3 million veterans buried in VA national cemeteries
since the Civil War, and in state veterans cemeteries and Arlington
National Cemetery since 1999.

"The expansion of this innovative program continues VA's commitment to
using Internet technology to fulfill the important mission of
memorializing our nation's veterans," said the Honorable R. James
Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "By adding records to our
online database, VA also helps families research their genealogy and
ensures that future generations of Americans will be able to honor these
veterans for their service."

The new records date from January 1997, the earliest time for which
electronic records exist. The information comes from applications made
for these veterans' headstones or markers. Beyond the 5 million records
now available, VA continues to add approximately 1,000 new records to
the database each day.

Last year, VA furnished nearly 369,000 inscribed headstones and markers
for veterans' graves worldwide.

Internet users only need to provide the last name of the deceased
veteran or dependent. Typically, the information available includes
name, birth and death dates, rank, branch of service and the address and
phone number of the cemetery.

Veterans whose discharges are other than dishonorable, their spouses and
dependent children may be buried in a national cemetery, regardless of
where they live. No advance reservations are made. VA provides
perpetual care, as well as a headstone or marker, a burial flag and a
memorial certificate to survivors.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery
offices, from a VA Web site at www.cem.va.gov