For Memorial Day 2023, GovCIO partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration (NCA) to add to its Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) website more than 300,000 service members and Veterans interred in 27 Department of Defense-managed military cemeteries, including Arlington National Cemetery.
VLM, a publicly available interactive online memorialization platform, honors the service and sacrifice of millions interred at these military cemeteries; at VA National and VA funded state, tribal, and territory Veteran cemeteries; and two U.S. Park Service National Cemeteries. The digital platform allows family and friends to upload written tributes, photos, biographies, documents, and other information to Veterans' memorial pages.
Since the program launched in 2019, over 4.8 million profiles have been created with nearly 60,000 memories added by family members, friends, researchers, and other users. The newly added 27 cemeteries include 18 operated by the Army, five operated by the Navy; and four by the Air Force.
"We are honored to be part of this meaningful program that pays tribute to our nation's heroes in such a personal way," said Karen Durham-Aguilera, Executive Director of the Office of Army Cemeteries and Army National Military Cemeteries. "We look forward to this continued partnership so that more people can discover the extraordinary stories of service and sacrifice that make up the fabric of our country."
From its inception, GovCIO has led the building, implementation and maintenance of the VLM site for the NCA, ensuring survivors and family members have access to the platform to memorialize their Veterans.
"This is a big leap forward for VLM," National Cemetery Administration Digital Services Officer James LaPaglia said. "For us, to be connecting to an interment database outside of the VA is a first. And Arlington National Cemetery is something that our customers have been asking for from the beginning when VLM started in 2019."
Additional newly launched VLM features GovCIO helped implement include a simpler and faster search for users to find their Veterans and a new Personal Achievements milestone to celebrate those non-military special occasions in a Veteran's life.
"Having a number of my relatives interred at VA national cemeteries, including my father-in-law at Arlington National Cemetery, I am extremely proud that the VA has entrusted GovCIO with this important mission," said Jim Brabston, GovCIO CEO. "Improving the VLM customer experience was our top priority, and we hope these new features will continue to allow families and friends to honor their Veterans."
About GovCIO
GovCIO is a rapidly growing provider of advanced technology solutions and digital services for the federal government. Combining our extensive federal experience with the latest innovations in IT and disruptive approaches, our experts develop comprehensive solutions to meet the most pressing demands of today's government agencies. From the U.S. military to Health and Human Services, we have an impressive track record of helping our customers optimize how they operate.
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