The

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

(VA) maintains many cemeteries specifically devoted to veterans. Most have various rules regarding what must take place in order to be interred there.

Procedure

The VA only permits graphics on government-furnished headstones or markers that are approved emblems of belief, the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Union Shield (including those who served in the U.S. military through the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

), the Civil War Confederate Southern Cross of Honor, and the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

insignia.

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

has similar restrictions on headstones, though it is maintained by US Department of the Army. The

religious symbol A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chapl ...

s are rendered as simple inscriptions without sculptural

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

or coloring other than

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

. The emblem of belief is an optional feature. Generally the VA adds a new symbol a few months after receiving a petition from a faith group. However, the

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

n symbol was only added in 2007 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of several families by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in November 2006. The VA added emblem of belief #37 – "WICCA (Pentacle)". A separate parallel lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Wiccan churches and three families by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

in September 2006, which was resolved by the same settlement. The first interfaith headstone, which includes a Wiccan

pentacle A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as ''pantacle'' in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) "The Pantacle of Frater V. I. O." is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and ...

for Jan Deanna O'Rourke and a Presbyterian Cross for her husband, was installed at Arlington National Cemetery on May 1, 2007, and dedicated on July 4, 2007. File:Cypress hills 22.jpg,

veteran,

Cypress Hills National Cemetery Cypress Hills National Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the only United States National Cemetery in New York City and has more than 21,100 interments of veterans and civilians. ...

File:Cypress hills 23.jpg, Medal of Honor recipient Anton Olsen,

File:fort logan national cemetery 4.jpg, Gravesites at

Fort Logan National Cemetery Fort Logan National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Fort Logan, a former U.S. Army installation, was named after Union General John A. Logan, commander of US Volunteer forces during the American Civil War. It co ...

, Memorial Day 2006

Headstone and marker symbols

The following emblems and emblem numbers are publicized as available for government headstones and markers as of August 2022. A process is in place to consider approving additional religious or belief system emblems requested by the families of individuals eligible for these headstones and markers. Each emblem is given its official USVA name and designation, with added additional links for related symbolism (*) and for related movements (†). Explanatory footnotes are provided where symbols' meanings are not immediately apparent. File:USVA headstone emb-01.svg, Latin (Christian) Cross †
USVA emblem 01 File:USVA headstone emb-02.svg,

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

*
USVA emblem 02 File:USVA headstone emb-03.svg,

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

(

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

)
USVA emblem 03 File:USVA headstone emb-04.svg, Presbyterian Cross *
USVA emblem 04 File:USVA headstone emb-05.svg,

Russian Orthodox Cross The Russian Orthodox Cross (or just the Orthodox Cross by some Russian Orthodox traditions) is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the ...

* †
USVA emblem 05 File:USVA headstone emb-06.svg, Lutheran Cross
USVA emblem 06 File:USVA headstone emb-07.svg, Episcopal Cross
USVA emblem 07 File:USVA headstone emb-08 (Unitarian-Universalist).svg, Unitarian (Flaming Chalice)
USVA emblem 08 File:USVA headstone emb-09.svg,

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

*
USVA emblem 09 File:USVA headstone emb-10.svg, Aaronic Order Church
USVA emblem 10 File:USVA headstone emb-11.svg,

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

(

Angel Moroni The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...

)
USVA emblem 11 File:USVA headstone emb-12.svg, Native American Church of North America *
USVA emblem 12 File:USVA headstone emb-13.svg,

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

USVA emblem 13 File:USVA headstone emb-14.svg,

Greek Cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

USVA emblem 14 File:Bahai star.svg, Bahai ( 9 Pointed Star)
USVA emblem 15 File:USVA headstone emb-16.svg,

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

* **
USVA emblem 16 File:USVA headstone emb-17.svg,

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

( Crescent and Star)
USVA emblem 17 File:DevanagariAum.svg,

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

*
USVA emblem 18 File:USVA headstone emb-19.svg, Konko-Kyo Faith
USVA emblem 19 File:USVA headstone emb-20.svg,

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

USVA emblem 20 File:USVA headstone emb-21.svg,

Sufism Reoriented Western Sufism, sometimes identified with Universal Sufism, Neo-Sufism, and Global Sufism, consists of a spectrum of Western European and North American manifestations and adaptations of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. Sufism flourished ...

USVA emblem 21 File:USVA headstone emb-22.svg, Tenrikyo Church
USVA emblem 22 File:USVA headstone emb-23.svg, Seicho-no-Ie
USVA emblem 23 File:USVA headstone emb-24.svg,

Church of World Messianity Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

USVA emblem 24 File:USVA headstone emb-25.svg,

United Church of Religious Science The Centers for Spiritual Living, or CSL, is a spiritual philosophy promoting Religious Science that was founded by Ernest Holmes in 1926. Before 2011, it was two organizations known as United Centers for Spiritual Living (formally, United Church ...

USVA emblem 25 File:USVA headstone emb-26.svg, Christian Reformed Church
USVA emblem 26 File:USVAMoravianChurch.svg, United Moravian Church
USVA emblem 27 File:USVA headstone emb-28.svg,

Eckankar Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. Its membership today is primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affiliated ...

USVA emblem 28 File:USVA headstone emb-29.svg,

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

USVA emblem 29 File:USVA headstone emb-30.svg,

Christian & Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianity ...

USVA emblem 30 File:USVA headstone emb-31.svg,

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

USVA emblem 31 File:Happyman.svg, Humanist Emblem of Spirit *
USVA emblem 32 File:USVA headstone emb-33.svg,

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

USVA emblem 33 File:USVA headstone emb-34.svg,

Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii The Izumo Taishakyo Mission is a Shinto shrine located in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. It is one of the few active Shinto shrines in the United States. The wooden A-frame structure was inspired by Shimane Prefecture's classical Japanese shrine I ...

USVA emblem 34 File:Hachiyourenge.svg, Soka Gakkai International (USA)
USVA emblem 35 File:Khanda.svg,

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

(

Khanda Khanda may refer to: Places * Khanda, Sonipat, a very big and historical village in Sonipat district of Haryana, India * Khanda, Jind, a village in Jind district of Haryana, India * Khanda Kheri, a village in Hansi Tehsil of Hisar district of Ha ...

)
USVA emblem 36 File:Emb-37.svg,

(

Pentacle A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as ''pantacle'' in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) "The Pantacle of Frater V. I. O." is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and ...

)
USVA emblem 37 File:USVA headstone emb-38.svg,

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

USVA emblem 38 File:USVA headstone emb-39.svg,

New Apostolic The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany. The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came abo ...

USVA emblem 39 File:USVA headstone emb-40.svg, Seventh Day Adventist Church
USVA emblem 40 File:USVA headstone emb-41.svg,

Celtic Cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

USVA emblem 41 File:USVA headstone emblem Armenian Cross.svg,

Armenian Cross An Armenian cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a floral postament or elements. In the Armenian Christianity it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses ( khachkar) – a free-standing cross ...

†
USVA emblem 42 File:USVA headstone emb-43.svg, Farohar †
USVA emblem 43 File:USVA headstone emb-44.svg,

Messianic Jewish Messianic Judaism ( he, or , ) is a modernist and syncretic movement of Protestant Christianity that incorporates some elements of Judaism and other Jewish traditions into evangelicalism. It emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier ...

USVA emblem 44 File:USVA headstone emb-45.svg, Kohen Hands

USVA emblem 45 File:USVA headstone emb-46.svg, Catholic Celtic Cross †
USVA emblem 46 File:USVA headstone emb-47.svg,

The First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachuset ...

( Cross and Crown)
USVA emblem 47 File:USVAMedicineWheel.svg,

Medicine Wheel To some indigenous peoples of North America, the medicine wheel is a metaphor for a variety of spiritual concepts. A medicine wheel may also be a stone monument that illustrates this metaphor. Historically, most medicine wheels follow the basic ...

USVA emblem 48 File:USVAInfinity.svg,

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

*
USVA emblem 49 File:USVALutherRose.svg,

Luther Rose The Luther seal or Luther rose is a widely recognized symbol for Lutheranism. It was the seal that was designed for Martin Luther at the behest of John Frederick of Saxony in 1530, while Luther was staying at the Coburg Fortress during the Die ...

†
USVA emblem 51 File:USVALandingEagle.svg, Landing Eagle
USVA emblem 52 File:USVAFourDirections.svg, Four Directions
USVA emblem 53 File:USVAChurchofNazarene.svg, Church of Nazarene
USVA emblem 54 File:The Hammer of Thor.svg, Hammer of Thor *
USVA emblem 55
File:USVAUnificationChurch.svg,

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

USVA emblem 56 File:USVASandhillCrane.svg,

Sandhill Crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...

USVA emblem 57
The VA added emblem of belief #57 – "Sandhill Crane". File:Church of God Emblem.svg, Church of God
USVA emblem 58 File:USVAPomegranate.svg,

Pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

USVA emblem 59 File:USVAMessianic.svg, Messianic *
USVA emblem 60 File:USVA emblem 61.svg,

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

*
USVA emblem 61 File:USVA headstone emb-62 (Sacred Heart).svg,

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

USVA emblem 62 File:USVA headstone emb-63 (African Ancestral Traditionalist).svg, African Ancestral Traditionalist ( Nyame Ye Ohene)
USVA emblem 63 File:USVA headstone emb-64 (Maltese Cross).svg,

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

USVA emblem 64 File:USVA headstone emb-65 (Druid - Awen).svg,

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

(

Awen Awen is a Welsh, Cornish and Breton word for "inspiration" (and typically poetic inspiration). In Welsh mythology, awen is the inspiration of the poets, or bards; or, in its personification, Awen is the inspirational muse of creative artists ...

)
USVA emblem 65 File:USVA headstone emb-66 (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod).svg,

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...

USVA emblem 66 File:USVA headstone emb-67 (Polish National Catholic Church).svg,

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...

USVA emblem 67 File:USVAGuardianAngel.jpg,

Guardian Angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...

USVA emblem 68 File:USVA headstone emb-69 (Heart).svg,

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

USVA emblem 69 File:USVAShepherd&Flag.jpg, Shepherd and Flag
USVA emblem 70 File:USVAAfricanMethodistEpiscopal.jpg, African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
USVA emblem 71 File:USVA headstone emb-72 (Evangelical Lutheran Church).svg, Evangelical Lutheran Church
USVA emblem 72 File:Christian Universalist symbol.svg, Universalist Cross
USVA emblem 73 File:USVAFaith&Prayer.jpg, Faith and Prayer
USVA emblem 74 File:USVA headstone emb-75 (Ichthys).svg,

Ichthys The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Koine Greek, Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koine Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is (in its modern rendition) a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point ...

USVA emblem 75 File:USVA headstone emb-76.svg, Nichiren Shoshu Temple
USVA emblem 76 File:DoveofPeace.jpg,

Dove of Peace Doves, typically domestic pigeons white in plumage, are used in many settings as symbols of peace, freedom, or love. Doves appear in the symbolism of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and paganism, and of both military and pacifist groups. Mytho ...

USVA emblem 77 File:USVAKingianFaith.jpg, Kingian Faith
USVA emblem 78 File:USVA headstone emb-98 (Druze).svg,

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

(Druzism

Five-pointed star A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture. Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and ...

)
USVA emblem 98

Notes

References

External links

* {{commonscatinline
USVA National Cemetery Administration: Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers

USVA Form 40-1330: Claim for Standard Government Headstone or Marker

Arlington National Cemetery – Emblems
Emblems for headstones and markers Religious symbols Military symbols Religion and society in the United States Burial monuments and structures * Lists of symbols

Procedure

Headstone and marker symbols

Notes

See also

References

External links