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State Veterans Cemetery — Gravesite, Marker and Perpetual Care, No Reservations

The cemetery at Kāne‘ohe provides the gravesite, the marker, opening and closing, and perpetual care. Gravesites cannot be reserved in advance, and full military honours are for retirees only.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

The cemetery at Kāne‘ohe provides the gravesite, the marker, opening and closing, and perpetual care. Gravesites cannot be reserved in advance, and full military honours are for retirees only.

What it's worth: Gravesite, marker, perpetual care, opening and closing of the grave

  • The cemetery provides a gravesite, a marker, perpetual care of the gravesite, and opens and closes the grave. The family pays for mortuary services and related costs, usually including transport of remains.
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs pays the plot or interment allowance fee for wartime and peacetime veterans. That allowance does not apply to the memorial wall where ashes are scattered, and there is no charge for placing a memorial marker there.
  • A Polyguard vault liner for casketed burials is provided by the state, subject to the availability of funds. Urn vaults are not provided and must be bought through a mortuary.
  • Eligible for burial: the veteran, their spouse, and minor children under 21 — or under 23 if pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution. An unmarried adult child who was physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support before the age of 21 is also eligible.
  • Families use a one-grave concept, with interments at 6, 8 and 10 foot depths. Cremated remains may go in a columbarium niche or an in-ground plot.
  • Only government standard flat granite markers for ground burial and bronze niche markers for columbarium interment are permitted. The granite marker is 24 by 12 by 4 inches and weighs about 130 pounds; the niche marker is 8½ by 5½ inches.

Who is entitled to it

  • Eligibility is established from the discharge document’s character of service.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Collect the veteran’s military information in advance even though a plot cannot be held. The cemetery encourages families to prepare by discussing options and gathering records ahead of time.
  2. 2Have a copy of the official discharge document showing character of service — a DD214, WDAGO 53-55 or a VA Statement of Service. A discharge certificate on its own is not sufficient.
  3. 3Be ready with the veteran’s full name, rank, branch, dates of entry and discharge, Social Security number, VA claim number, date of birth and date of death.
  4. 4At need the funeral director contacts the cemetery to schedule the interment. A family not using a mortuary may call the cemetery directly on 808-369-3575.
  5. 5Plan the service around the cemetery’s limits: no funeral services on site, a committal service of no more than ten minutes held in a shelter away from the gravesite, no viewing or banquet facilities, and no burials at weekends or on state holidays.
File with
Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Kāne‘ohe
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionGravesites cannot be reserved in advance. The cemetery says so outright, which makes it the opposite of the pre-registration model most state cemeteries use — there is nothing to file ahead of time and nothing that guarantees a place.
CorrectionFull military honours are provided for retirees only — uniformed pallbearers, a flag-folding detail, a rifle salute, a bugler and a chaplain. Other veterans are provided a bugler and a minimum two-person team to fold and present the flag.
Worth knowingOne gravesite normally serves the whole eligible family, with a single marker. Where both spouses are veterans, two gravesites and two headstones may be provided if requested.
Worth knowingThe state cemetery is on O‘ahu. The cemeteries on Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i are run by their counties — by Parks and Recreation on Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i, by Public Works in Maui County — and most have no permanent staff on site, so arrangements go through the county office rather than the state.
Known gapNo residency requirement is published on the pages read here, and no fee schedule for a spouse or dependent interment was found. Confirm both with the cemetery before relying on either.
Known gapThe two East Hawai‘i cemeteries differ: East Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery No. I in Hilo is closed, while No. II on Laimana Avenue is not. A family should confirm which is taking interments before making arrangements.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.