This is an extended interview with Dan Kemano, the director for the Virginia Veterans Cemeteries.
The Veterans Administration, as a rule, nationwide, does not provide vaults for veterans burials.
Rather, at no cost, it offers liners, sometimes called a concrete box. What’s the difference? A liner, which looks like a vault, has no seal, leaving the body inside the casket, exposed. A vault though, has an actual seal that locks and keeps outside elements away from the casket.
We spoke with a handful of veterans organizations. They tell us they didn’t know that veterans caskets were being placed inside unprotected liners. Like Mrs. Runyon, they thought caskets were being placed inside sealed vaults.
Videos are shown to families everyday at funeral homes, explaining the difference between burial containers and sealed vaults, as they decide whether to place the casket in a liner or a vault. Neither protects the body forever, but the vault offers more protection.
“The manufacturer has a warranty on them’, says Ross Blount with McCoy Funeral Home, “some are 15, some are 25 and beyond. If you’re worried about protection, you’re going to want to use a vault.”
[Source: WDBJ 7]
