Committal services resume at Fort Scott National Cemetery

Fort Scott National Cemetery will resume committal services for families who are interring their loved ones on June 9.

“We are pleased to resume committal services and military funeral honors at Fort Scott National Cemetery,” Cemetery Director Konrad Tolai said. “We will also soon be contacting families who chose direct interments to schedule memorial services and military funeral honors, if desired. We appreciate the patience and understanding families have shown during the COVID-19 pandemic and are eager to begin returning to normal operations.”

Fort Scott National Cemetery has remained open for interments and visitation throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, as a matter of health and safety, the cemetery began deferring committal services and military funeral honors on March 23.

Families with interments scheduled on or after June 9 will be offered the option of a committal service at the time of interment. Military funeral honors, customarily provided by the Department of Defense and volunteer honor guards, will be based on local availability.

Fort Scott National Cemetery continues to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In doing so, we will limit the number of individuals attending committal services, require all attendees to practice physical distancing between individuals not from the same household, ensure all attendees and employees wear face coverings, encourage frequent use of hand sanitizer and ask sick individuals to stay home.

In keeping with federal guidance, committal and memorial services at Fort Scott National Cemetery will be limited to 10 family members and guests at the service. Cemetery employees, funeral home personnel and military honors providers will not count toward the family’s limit on attendees.

Families may continue to choose a direct interment without a service and opt for a memorial service later when all restrictions have been lifted.

Memorial services for veterans and eligible family members who were interred without a committal service between March 23 and June 8 will commence in July. Cemetery representatives will reach out to these families in the coming weeks to discuss their options and schedule a memorial service, if desired. Families may also contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office or the cemetery directly to schedule a memorial service after June 29.

For more information, visit the National Cemetery Adminstration (NCA) website or contact Konrad Tolai, Cemetery Director, at (913) 727-1376. To make burial arrangements or schedule a memorial service at Fort Scott National Cemetery or any VA national cemetery, contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at (800) 535-1117.

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About the National Cemetery Administration

VA’s National Cemetery Administration operates 143 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 41 states and Puerto Rico. More than 4 million Americans, including Veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA’s national cemeteries. For Veterans not buried in a VA national cemetery, VA provides headstones, markers or medallions to commemorate their service. Information on VA burial benefits is available from local VA national cemetery offices, online at https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/ or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000.