The Veterans Legacy Memorial - the nation’s largest digital platform dedicated to the memory of veterans and service members — has been expanded to allow veterans to tell their own stories before they pass away.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the new “Your Story, Your Legacy” feature on Thursday. It will allow veterans who have been approved for VA’s pre-need eligibility determination for burial in a VA national cemetery to log in to a secure website where they can privately submit images, autobiographies, military and life milestones, and historical documents.
The content will be kept secure by VA until the veteran passes away and VA approves a request for a burial or memorial benefit. Following approval, the content the veteran submitted will become public and appear on their VLM page on the public-facing website.
“The legacies we leave behind come in many forms,” said Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald Walters. “Providing veterans with resources to document their stories while they are still with us ensures their voices are heard and allows family members, friends, and others to appreciate the experiences of those who served.”
VLM already offers family, friends, and others a way to chronicle the life of a veteran by uploading written tributes, photos, biographies, documents, and other information. It contains nearly 10 million interactive VLM pages for those interred in VA national cemeteries, Department of Defense-managed cemeteries, VA grant-funded state/tribal cemeteries, National Park Service cemeteries, and private cemeteries around the world.
Veterans who have provided their email addresses and been approved for pre-need eligibility will receive an email directing them to the “Your Story, Your Legacy” landing page. Here’s where to apply online. For more information about the feature, visit here.
Since the VLM website launched in 2019, more than 165,000 submissions have been made to Veteran profile pages. NCA moderators review all content submissions before being posted to a veteran’s page to ensure it conforms to the VLM User Policy.
For information about VA burial benefits, visit one of VA’s National Cemetery locations in person, visit online, or call toll-free at 800-827-1000. To plan for you and your family, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
