Originally published: 2026-07-17T16:00:52+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced eight grants to educational and research institutions totaling $2,199,686 to memorialize Veterans interred in VA and VA grant-funded cemeteries as part of the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program.
These grants help fund opportunities for educators and students to conduct research and visit cemeteries to learn about the service and sacrifice of America’s Veterans. Each grant recipient has designed a program to memorialize the brave men and women who have been laid to rest in our national cemeteries. At the end of each program, students will have a chance to share what they have learned in a public forum.
“These grants connect America’s youth with America’s Veterans,” said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Sam Brown “They help teach young people valuable lessons about service, sacrifice, courage, and perseverance that will last a lifetime.”
The recipients announced today were selected following a rigorous review process. They include:
- Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public School, $125,000
This Nebraska school district will reinforce the importance of honoring Veterans who served in the Omaha Tribal community for K-12 students. Elementary school students will learn about service, remembrance and respectful inquiry through guided evidence activities and remembrance projects. Middle school students will investigate local Veteran stories through research at school and at their local Veterans’ cemetery. High school students will conduct deeper historical research and create biographies and interpretive products suitable for public sharing in the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM).
- National History Day, Inc., $356,582
This nonprofit will identify 50 teachers across the nation who live near a VA or VA grant-funded cemetery and help each teacher identify a group of interested students who will study Veterans who served in the U.S. Navy and/or Coast Guard during World War II. NHD will guide research and work to add up to 100 profiles for publication on the Veterans Legacy Memorial and cross-listed on NHDSilentHeroes.org.
- U.S. Korea Global Strategy Foundation, $329,997
This research institute will host webinars aimed at connecting students and teachers to the VLM and national cemeteries by having students research local Vietnam War Veterans buried in a national cemetery. The project expects to reach as many as 21,000 students and 900 teachers across the country.
- University of Alaska Anchorage, $325,000
The university will teach high school and undergraduate students about Veterans’ contribution to Alaska’s and America’s history and highlight the unique experiences of Alaska’s Veteran population. It will also work to establish a dedicated memorial on UAA’s Anchorage campus where students will display and present their research.
- Texas State University, $286,985
Through its TexVet Legacy Project, the university will produce Veteran stories for the VLM and produce educational materials for K-12 students that focus on Gold Star Families and include guided cemetery visits to VA-funded cemeteries in Texas. The university expects this project to reach an estimated 4,000 students per year in this work.
- University of Central Missouri, $255,451
This university will educate students and faculty about Veterans interred at Fort Scott National Cemetery in Kansas and the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville. It will hire five UCM students to create biographies of veterans interred at these local cemeteries, develop a dedicated project website, create video content and operate walking tours, and conduct community engagement events to expand the reach of the VLM.
- University of Denver, $201,699
This project will collaborate with area K-12 schools and invite teachers to offer Veteran-focused curriculum on local Veteran history. High school students will learn from Veterans and work with University of Denver students in documenting the unique legacy of Colorado veterans. The project will also update and extend the reach of morethanaheadstone.org, adding virtual walking tours and student-generated biographies to the Veterans Legacy Memorial. Finally, the project will explore and define future collaborations with Fort Logan National Cemetery, so that the histories of all Colorado veterans can be discovered and shared.
- Montclair State University, $318,971
The Garden State Veterans Legacy Program (GSVLP) will enroll teachers in a 12-month curriculum development program. Participants will learn professional historical research methods using specialized databases like Ancestry.com, Fold3, and military archives to uncover the experiences of Veterans with connections to New Jersey. A central component of the program is a three-day field trip to Beverly National Cemetery, Finn’s Point National Cemetery, Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, and Washington Crossing National Cemetery.
VA established VLP in 2016 to memorialize Veterans through educational outreach and to connect students, educators, and citizens with VA national cemeteries. The program has so far awarded dozens of grants and engaged with more than 15,000 students. Veteran biographies, images and other content are also preserved on VA’s Veterans Legacy Memorial site, where individual web pages commemorate the lives and service of more than 10 million U.S. Veterans interred in U.S. and overseas cemeteries.
NCA provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible Veterans, their spouses, and their dependents — at no cost to the family. This includes a gravesite in any of VA’s national cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a government headstone, marker or medallion, a burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Some Veterans may also be eligible for burial allowances.
Click here to learn more about VA’s burial benefits and memorial services
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
