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Denied

The Veteran died in August 1990, and his grave was already marked with a privately purchased marker. The appeal is denied as the legal requirements for eligibility are not met due to the Veteran's death occurring before November 1, 1990.

The deciding factor: The Veteran died on August 1990, which falls after the effective date of the law providing for government-furnished headstones or markers (November 1, 1990). The grave was already marked with a privately purchased marker at that time, thus not meeting one of the legal requirements.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
September 29, 2016
Citation
1638933

This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1638933.

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