Jim Absher is a benefits columnist for Military.com.
The Department of Defense has created an online memorial to honor military members who died in their service to the nation.
The Military ln Lasting Tribute memorial, unveiled on Veterans Day 2021, allows visitors to view and share tributes and remember their loved ones online.
Surviving family members can add a deceased veteran's name and information to the memorial by completing an online form. You must have access to DD Form 1300, "Report of Casualty," in order to add a veteran's information to the memorial at this time.
Deceased service members will not have their names entered into the memorial without a surviving family member's request.
Each fallen service member will have a dedicated page on the memorial website that lists their name, branch of service, rank and date of death. Family members are able to upload a photograph of their loved one as well. If no photo is shared, the veteran's tribute page will have the service branch's seal. Visitors to the site will have the option to share the link to a memorial via email or social media.
Currently, the online memorial is accepting applications for inclusion only for those who died on active duty since Jan. 1, 1985 – which includes more than 47,000 military members, according to the DoD. In the future, all military members who died on active duty will be included in the memorial.
Deaths prior to 1985 require validation through the National Personnel Records Center before being included on the memorial website. The DoD will begin accepting submissions to the memorial for those who died prior to 1985 once the pandemic and post-pandemic workload returns to normal, it says.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has also created an online memorial page for nearly 4.5 million veterans interred in national, state, territorial and tribal veterans cemeteries.
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