HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock issued a directive Thursday that says graveside services at state veterans cemeteries will again be allowed upon request.
The directive broadens the scope of a policy that said graveside services would only be granted in spiritual or other special circumstances.
The policy also said families and loved ones generally could only visit the gravesite after a burial was complete.
“When a Montana veteran is laid to rest, their loved ones should be near them throughout the ceremony, including the graveside burial,” Bullock said in a statement on the new directive.
New shelters and columbariums were built about a year ago to use for services at veterans’ cemeteries in Helena and Missoula, replacing graveside services.
Montana Veterans Affairs Division administrator Joe Foster said previously that replacing graveside services in this manner complied with National Cemetery Administration policy. He said the policy was put in place because of safety and liability concerns.
Foster didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on the altered policy.
Jim Heffernan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has helped with veteran funeral service protocol in Helena for 29 years, said he supported the policy to hold fewer gravesite services. He said it provides respect for nearby graves and is safer.
“We are subservient to the family’s wishes but something like that is a safety factor,” he said, adding he’s seen people fall into graves during services.
He also said the practice of using shelters for services in veteran cemeteries is becoming more of the norm. Heffernan’s family used one for his brother’s funeral service in Illinois, he said.
Lexi Hampson, program director with the Montana Veterans Foundation, said she hasn’t heard of more restrictive policies at civilian cemeteries and thinks people should have a choice.
“I think it’s important that our heroes are laid to rest with some respect,” she said. “Some of these guys have given ultimate sacrifice and to not allow it would be terrible.”
Montana has another veterans’ cemetery in Miles City which does not have a shelter and has continued to allow services at gravesites.