LETTERS: QUESTIONS ABOUT VET CEMETERY REGS

To the editor:

I have a few questions concerning the proposed Missouri Veterans Cemetery. Several years ago a friend of mine died. He was a veteran of World War II and spent his time in hell island-hopping in the South Pacific with the Marines. When he died, his burial flag was refused by the American Legion for its Avenue of Flags as he was not born in Cape Girardeau. After his service time was up, he came to Cape, married in Cape, raised his family in Cape, paid his taxes in Cape, and his family still resides in this area. Yet because he was born in Illinois, he was not eligible for the Cape Avenue of Flags. In a way, this is understandable, but only up to a point.

My question: How will the eligibility for burial in the proposed veterans cemetery be determined? As a vet of World War II with 22 years in the Navy, I came to Cape with my family in 1958 and have lived here since. I have raised my family in Cape, and Cape is their hometown. I have paid my taxes in Cape and to Missouri since 1958. However, I was born in Iowa. Am I to be excluded from burial in the veteran's cemetery? I realize there will be -- and must be -- some limitation, but I just wondered what will be the requirements for burial in the proposed cemetery.

Several statements in the Jan. 16 Southeast Missourian have caught my attention: 1. The proposed cemetery in Southeast Missouri will be to "serve the region's veterans and their families." 2. The state is home to more than half a million veterans. 3. In 1996 the Missouri Legislature approved the creation of a system of state veterans cemeteries.

How will the Legislature define veterans and their eligibility for burial and for the spouse in the proposed cemeteries?

K.E. ALDRICH

Cape Girardeau

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ron Taylor, director of service and planning for the Missouri Veterans Commission, says regulations haven't been adopted yet regarding the planned state veterans cemeteries. However, he said the state can impose a residency requirement. If it does, he says it will probably be the same as for admission to the state's veterans homes: six months of residency in Missouri at any time.