California National Guard Photo
Pete Fosselman of The American Legion Los Angeles Sheriff Star Post 309 faithfully served for 13 years in the military including some state active duty for wildfire suppression.
When he is called to heaven, Pete would like to be buried near his father and other relatives at the Riverside National Cemetery in Southern California.
But tens of thousands, like Pete, who diligently and solely served in the National Guard and/or the Reserve Components, are currently not eligible to be buried in a Veterans Affairs National Cemetery. This is because they do not meet the minimum active duty service requirements such as, served on federal active duty (Title 10), or served full-time on National Guard duty (Title 32), or they are not eligible for reserve retirement (have not received a 20 year letter), or they do not have a service-connected disability, etc.
On March 15, H.R.2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, became Public Law No. 117-103. This omnibus bill includes the “Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021” (thanks to New Hampshire SEN Shaheen S.2089 and REP Pappas H.R.3944). Unfortunately, this bill mostly refers to federal grants to state-owned veterans’ cemeteries and it still does not open up national cemeteries to Pete and others in his situation.
If you are willing to help Pete in this effort, email pdogmist@yahoo.com, Nestor Aliga, Nestor.Aliga@comcast.net, and Autrey James, commander@calegion.org.
Author: Nestor Aliga
Nestor Aliga was born in the Philippines and migrated to Vallejo, CA in 1967. He was in the US Marine Corps from 1974 to 1976 then in the US Army from 1976 to 2008. He is a life-member of the Big-Three, www.CALEGION.org, www.VFWCA.org, and www.DAVCAL.org.
