Phil Drake Jan 26, 2024 Updated Jan 26, 2024
Sen. Steve Daines is objecting to a federal directive that prohibits medallions on government-issued markers in VA cemeteries, calling it a misguided policy that does “nothing but cause more issues than it fixes.”
The Montana Republican, in a Jan. 22 letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, focused on what he said was the removal of medallions honoring World War II veterans who served in the Army’s First Special Service Force, though the rule applies to all branches of the military.
“For years, the Montanans who served in the FSSF and were buried at VA cemeteries in Montana were remembered for their special service with a medallion located on their headstone. However, now, the NCA – citing ‘long standing’ official policy that medallions are prohibited on VA purchased headstones – has ordered the removal of these symbolic medallions,” Daines stated in the letter.