WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), U.S. Senator Angus King raised the importance of honoring fallen servicemembers at national cemeteries. Under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), servicemembers are entitled to burial benefits, which include a final resting place in any VA national cemetery with available space — at no cost to the family. Unfortunately only 35-percent of veterans are aware of this benefit, according to a poll conducted through the Veterans’ Experience Office.

Senator King began his remarks by observing that veterans cemeteries are “a sacred topic”. Then in an exchange with Matthew Quinn, the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs with the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), King reaffirmed his support for volunteers who help operate national cemeteries and military burial grounds. He also asked for the NCA to assist with restoring a damaged flagpole at Togus.

Senator King first expressed gratitude for the volunteers and organizations that support military burial grounds.

“The other piece that I think deserves some mention is the volunteers. Being at these, particularly the grant funded cemeteries, tremendous volunteer support, there are people that really made those cemeteries go, and I hope that there's an ability to recognize and support those volunteer organizations,” began Senator King.

“Senator, I'll take that back [to my work colleagues]. I'll tell you, you know, not only the honor guard, which are typically volunteers or will work with the with the military. But also, when I go to visit our national cemeteries or grant-funded cemeteries, the volunteers that are sitting at the front desk helping people who are there to visit, I think those are the unsung heroes,” responded Quinn. “And I think our cemeteries that operate the most efficiently and the best in terms of information, it's those volunteers that are manning the desk, talking to fellow veterans when they come in.

“And raising money,” added Senator King.

“Raising money for the cemetery. Yes sir,” said Quinn.

“And raising awareness. So, I hope that that might be a bit of a focus of your work is to find ways to recognize and acknowledge those volunteers because I think they are really important,” finished Senator King.

Senator King then raised the question of getting the flagpole at Togus National Cemetery outside Augusta, which was damaged in a storm, restored.

“Now I have a really important question. The flagpole at Togus has been damaged severely in a storm. We're having trouble getting it fixed because of some difficulty in the payment methodology with the VA and the cemetery. So, if you can help me with getting the flagpole at Togus back into service that would be important to veterans in Maine,” asked Senator King.

Sir, that wouldn't be the first flagpole I noticed that wasn't operational that I ended up getting fixed. So, I will take that on and I'll find out what's going on at Togus. Contracting support has been tough post COVID. We've seen higher costs, but we'll work on Togus, we'll get that flagpole fixed. It’s important to have a flag over our national cemetery,” responded Quinn.

“It certainly is. And, particularly one of our oldest. What is the oldest national cemetery,” asked Senator King.

“So usually about 1862 is when, you know, Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Hey, we need National Cemeteries’ for Civil War dead. 1862 would be the oldest when we first established,” finished Quinn.

One of the first national cemeteries established was in Maine at Togus in 1866. Today the cemetery is closed to new internments, though there is another national cemetery in Maine — Acadia National Cemetery in Jonesboro. There are also four state veterans’ cemeteries located throughout the state, and one administered by the tribal government in Houlton. Two of which, located in Caribou and Springfield, Senator King helped established during his time as governor.

Representing a state with one of the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King has been a stalwart champion for veterans and servicemembers in Maine and across the country. A member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, he is committed to ensuring veterans and their families receive their earned benefits and support from the VA. He recently spearheaded the passage of legislation to better track and study servicemember suicides by job assignment. Earlier this year, Senator King held an SVAC field hearing at the University of Maine Augusta to discuss the state of veterans’ long-term care in Maine and other critical issues facing veterans. In a September 2023 hearing, he questioned VA officials in an SVAC hearing to shed light on how financial strain can impact veterans’ mental health. Senator King has also worked to properly honor and recognize the sacrifices of Purple Heart medal recipients, protect veterans from fraud, and expand veteran assisted living services.

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