§ 1.600 The National Cemetery System.

The National Cemetery System authorized by 38 U.S.C. Chapter 24 (the National Cemeteries Act of 1973) consists of all cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Veterans Administration on June 18, 1973, and the national cemeteries, soldiers' lots, confederate plots, cemeteries and monuments, and a national monument site and the Government-owned lots in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C., which were transferred on September 1, 1973, from the Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, and any additional cemeteries designated by the Administrator. The Chief Memorial Affairs Director serves concurrently as the Director, National Cemetery System.

§ 1.601 Advisory Committee on Cemeteries and Memorials.

Responsibilities in connection with Committee authorized by 38 U.S.C. Chapter 24 are as follows:

(a) The Administrator shall appoint the Committee members and consult with the Committee with respect to the administration of the cemeteries, selection of cemetery sites, the erection of appropriate memorials and the adequacy of Federal burial benefits.

(b) The Chief Memorial Affairs Director will schedule the frequency of meetings, make presentations before the Committee, participate when requested by the Committee, evaluate Committee reports and recommendations and make recommendations to the Administrator based on Committee actions.

(c) The Committee will evaluate and study cemeterial, memorial and burial benefits proposals or problems submitted by the Administrator or Chief Memorial Affairs Director, and make recommendations as to course of action or solution. Reports and recommendations will be submitted to the Administrator for transmission to Congress.

§ 1.602 Names for national cemetery activities.

(a) Responsibility. The Administrator is responsible for naming national cemeteries. The Chief Memorial Affairs Director is responsible for

naming activities and features therein, such as drives, walks, or special structures.

(b) Basis for names. The names of national cemetery activities may be based on physical and area characteristics, the nearest important city (town), or a historical characteristic related to the area. Newly constructed interior thoroughfares for vehicular traffic in national cemetery activities will be known as "drives." To facilitate location of graves by visitors, drives will be named after cities, counties or States or after historically notable persons, places or events.

§ 1.603 Gifts and donations.

(a) Policy. The administrator may prescribe restrictions and accept gifts, devises or bequests from legitimate societies and organizations or reputable individuals, made in any manner, which are made for the purpose of beautifying national cemeteries, or are determined to be beneficial to such cemetery. The Administrator may make land available for this purpose, and may furnish such care and maintenance as deemed necessary. Gifts of a minor nature such as trees for placement in the burial area and privately purchased grave markers may be accepted by the Chief Memorial Affairs Director.

(b) Processing. All offers of gifts for national cemetery activities will be referred to the Chief Memorial Affairs Director, Veterans Administration, Washington, D.C. 20420. No commitment will be made to the donor regarding acceptance until the required approval has been obtained.

(c) Restrictions. (1) Gifts and donations will be accepted only after it has been determined that the donor has a clear understanding that title thereto passes to, and is vested in, the United States, and that the donor relinquishes all control over the future use or disposition of the gift or donation, with the following exceptions:

(i) Carillons will be accepted with the condition that the donor will provide the maintenance and the operator or the mechanical means of operation. The time of operation and the maintenance will be coordinated with the superintendent of the national cemetery.

(ii) Articles donated for a specific purpose and which are usable only for that purpose may be returned to the donor if the purpose for which the articles were donated cannot be accomplished.

(iii) If the donor directs that the gift is donated for a particular use, those directions will be carried out insofar as they are proper and practicable and not in violation of Veterans Administration policy.

(iv) When considered appropriate and not in conflict with the purpose of the national cemetery, the donor may be recognized by a suitable inscription on those gifts. In no case will the inscription give the impression that the gift is owned by, or that its future use is controlled by, the donor. Any tablet or plaque, containing an inscription will be of such size and design as will harmonize with the general nature and design of the gift.

(2) Officials and employees of the Veterans Administration will not solicit contributions from the public nor will they authorize the use of their names, the name of the Administrator, or the name of the Veterans Administration by an individual or organization in any campaign or drive for money or articles for the purpose of making a donation to the Veterans Administration. This restriction does not preclude discussion with the individual offering the gift relative to the appropriateness of the gift offered.

§ 1.604 Law enforcement and standards of conduct.

The superintendent is charged with the responsibility for the enforcement of rules and regulations governing conduct on national cemetery property. These rules and regulations, which are recorded in §§ 1.218 through 1.220, will be posted in a conspicuous place on cemetery property.

§ 1.605-1.619 [Reserved]

§ 1.620 Eligibility for burial.

The following rules for eligibility for interment in national cemeteries apply to all former Veterans Administration cemeteries as of June 18, 1973. These rules of eligibility for interment also apply to all cemeteries transferred on

September 1, 1973, from the Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, and to any other cemetery later acquired or developed by the Veterans Administration. Burial is authorized in national cemeteries of the remains of the following:

(a) Any person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable. The determination of the character of discharge is subject to adjudication under § 3.12 of this chapter.

(b) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who died while on active duty.

(c) Any member of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces, the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, whose death occurs under honorable conditions while hospitalized or undergoing treatment, at the expense of the United States, for injury or disease contracted on incurred under honorable conditions while performing active duty for training, inactive duty training, or undergoing that hospitalization or treatment at the expense of the United States.

(d) Any member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force whose death occurs under honorable conditions while

(1) Attending an authorized training camp or on an authorized practice cruise.

(2) Performing authorized travel to or from that camp or cruise, or

(3) Hospitalized or undergoing treatment, at the expense of the United States, for injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable conditions while

(i) Attending that camp or on that cruise,

(ii) Performing that travel, or

(iii) Undergoing that hospitalization or treatment at the expense of the United States.

(e) Any citizen of the United States who, during any war in which the United States is or has been engaged, served in the Armed Forces of any Government allied with the United States during that war, whose last such service terminated honorably,

who was a citizen of the United States at the time of entry on such service and at the time of death.

(f) The spouse of any person listed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section or any interred veteran's unremarried surviving spouse. A surviving spouse of a veteran who has remarried and whose remarriage is void, terminated by death or dissolved by annulment or divorce by a court with basic authority to render such decrees regains eligibility for burial in a national cemetery unless it is determined that the decree of annulment or divorce was secured through fraud or collusion.

(g) A veteran's minor child (under 21 years of age or under 23 years of age if pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution), or unmarried adult child who was physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support, in the same grave with the veteran or in an adjoining gravesite if prior reservation for that grave was in effect.

(h) Such other persons or classes of persons as may be designated by the Administrator.

§ 1.621 Disinterments from national cemeteries.

(a) Interments of eligible decedents in national cemetery activities are considered permanent and final. Disinterments will be permitted only for cogent reasons and then only with the prior written authorization of the Chief Memorial Affairs Director. Disinterments and removal of remains from a national cemetery activity will be approved only when all living close relatives of the decendent give their written consent or in recognition of a court order directing the disinterment.

(b) All requests for authority to disinter remains will be submitted on VA Forms 40-4970 and 40-4970a, Request for Disinterment, and Disinterment Affidavit, and will include the following information:

(1) A full statement of reasons for the proposed disinterment.

(2) Notarized statements by all close living relatives of the decedent that they consent to the proposed disinterment. "Close relatives" are defined as surviving spouse, parents, adult broth

ers and sisters, and adult children of the decedent. Copies of VA Forms 404970 and 40-4970a will be furnished by the Department of Memorial Affairs.

(3) A sworn statement, by a person having knowledge thereof, that those who supplied affidavits comprise all the living close relatives of the deceased.

(c) In lieu of the documents required in paragraph (b) of this section, an order of a court of competent jurisdiction will be considered. The Veterans Administration or officials of the cemetery should not be made a party to the court action since this is a matter among the family members involved.

(d) Disinterment of the remains of the dependent of a veteran which were interred in a national cemetery, based on completion of an agreement by the veteran to be buried in the same or adjoining grave, may be authorized by the Chief Memorial Affairs Director upon receipt of a written request on VA Form 40-4983, Request for Disinterment (Dependent), from the veter

an.

(e) Any disinterment that may be authorized under this section must be accomplished without expense to the Government.

§§ 1.622-1.629 [Reserved]

§ 1.630 Headstones and markers.

(a) Types of Government headstones and markers and inscriptions will be in accordance with policies approved by the Administrator.

(b) Inscriptions on Government headstones, markers, and private monuments will be in accordance with policies and specifications of the Chief Memorial Affairs Director. The National Cemetery section designation and grave number will be inscribed on the reverse side, near the top of the upright headstone. The section designation and grave number on flat granite markers will be inscribed on the front (face) of the stone in the upper right corner.

(c) All memorial markers furnished by the Government may be erected in private cemeteries or in national cemetery sections established for this purpose. The markers for national ceme

(a) An approved type of headstone or marker will be furnished at Government expense, upon request, for the unmarked graves of the following:

(1) Any individual buried in a national cemetery or in a post cemetery.

(2) Any individual eligible for burial in a national cemetery (but not buried there) under the provisions of § 1.620, except for those persons or classes of persons enumerated in § 1.620 (e), (f), (g) and (h).

(b) An approved type of memorial headstone or marker will be furnished at Government expense, upon request, to commemorate any veteran dying in service, and whose remains have not been recovered or identified or were buried at sea. Memorial headstones or markers may be placed in national cemeteries in areas reserved for such purposes or in any private or local cemetery.

§ 1.632 Headstone and marker application required.

(a) Headstones and markers for graves in national cemeteries shall be ordered from the Record of Interment (VA Form 40-4956) prepared by the national cemetery superintendent at the time of interment. No further application is required.

(b) Submission of VA Form 40-1330, Application for Headstone or Marker, is required for the purpose of:

(1) Ordering a Government headstone or marker for any unmarked grave of any eligible veteran buried in a private or local cemetery.

(2) Ordering a Government headstone or marker for any unmarked grave in a post cemetery of the Armed Forces.

(3) Ordering a Government memorial headstone or marker for placement in a national cemetery, in a private or local cemetery and any post cemetery of the Armed Forces.

INVENTIONS BY EMPLOYEES OF VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

AUTHORITY: §§ 1.650 to 1.666 issued under sec. 1, 66 Stat. 811, 72 Stat. 1114; 35 U.S.C. 266, 38 U.S.C. 210, E.O. 9865, 12 FR 3907, 3 CFR 1943-1948 Comp., E.O. 10096, 15 FR 389, 3 CFR 1949-1953 Comp.

§ 1.650 Purpose.

The terms as used in the regulations concerning inventions by employees of the Veterans Administration are defined as follows:

(a) The term "invention" includes any art, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or any variety of plant, which is or may be patentable under the patent laws of the United States.

(b) The term "employee" or "Government employee” means any officer or employee, civilian or military, of the Veterans Administration. Parttime employees and part-time consultants are included, except when special circumstances in a specific case require the departure herefrom to meet the needs of the Veterans Administration, such circumstances to be reported to and approved by the Commissioner.

(c) The term "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Patents, Department of Commerce, or his designee.

[21 FR 10377, Dec. 28, 1956, as amended at 31 FR 5291, Apr. 2, 1966]

§ 1.652 Governing provisions.

(a) Executive Order 10096. Paragraph 1, Executive Order 10096, dated January 23, 1950 (15 FR 389, 3 CFR, 1949-1953 Comp., p. 292) as amended by Executive Order 10930, dated March 24, 1961 (26 FR 2583, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 456), provides in part:

(a) The Government shall obtain the entire right, title and interest in and to all inventions made by any Government employee (1) during working hours, or (2) with a contribution by the Government of facilities, equipment, materials, funds, or information, or of time or services of other Government employees on official duty, or (3) which bear a direct relation to or are made in consequence of the official duties of the inventor.

(b) In any case where the contribution of the Government, as measured by any one or more of the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) last above, to the invention is insufficient equitably to justify a requirement of assignment to the Government of the entire right, title and interest to such invention, or in any case where the Government has insufficient interest in an invention to obtain entire right, title and interest therein (although the Government could obtain same under paragraph (a), above), the Government agency concerned, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Patents, shall leave title to such invention in the employee, subject, however, to the reservation to the Government of a nonexclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention with power to grant licenses for all governmental purposes, such reservation, in the terms thereof, to appear, where practicable, in any patent, domestic or foreign, which may issue on such invention.

(c) In applying the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b), above, to the facts and circumstances relating to the making of any particular invention, it shall be presumed that an invention made by an employee who is employed or assigned (i) to invent or improve or perfect any art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, (ii) to conduct or perform research, development work, or both, (iii) to supervise, direct, coordinate, or review Government financed or conducted research, development work, or both, or (iv) to act in a liaison capacity among governmental or nongovernmental agencies or individuals engaged in such work, or made by an employee included within any other category of employees specified by regulations issued pursuant to section 4(b) hereof, falls within the provisions of paragraph (a), above, and it shall be presumed that any invention made by any other employee falls within the provisions of paragraph (b), above. Either presumption may be rebutted by the facts or circumstances attendant upon the conditions under which any particular invention is made and, notwithstanding the foregoing, shall not preclude a determination that the invention falls within the provisions of paragraph (d) next below.

(d) In any case wherein the Government neither (1) pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) above, obtains entire right,

title and interest in and to an invention nor (2) pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) above, reserves a non-exclusive, irrevocable royalty-free license in the invention with power to grant licenses for all governmental purposes, the Government shall leave the entire right, title and interest in and to the invention in the Government employee, subject to law ***.

(b) Executive Order No. 9865. Executive Order No. 9865 provides in part:

1. All Government departments and agencies shall, whenever practicable, acquire the right to file foreign patent applications on inventions resulting from research conducted or financed by the Government ***. [21 FR 10377, Dec. 28, 1956, as amended at 31 FR 5291, Apr. 2, 1966]

§ 1.653 Delegation of authority.

The General Counsel is authorized to act for the Administrator of Veterans Affairs in matters concerning patents and inventions, unless otherwise required by law. The determination of rights to an invention as between the Government and the employee shall be made by the General Counsel, subject to the approval of the Commissioner, where required.

[31 FR 5291, Apr. 2, 1966]

§ 1.654 Invention owned by the Government.

Any invention owned by the Government under the criteria given in paragraph 1(a) of Executive Order 10096 (15 FR 389, 3 CFR, 1949-1953 Comp., p. 292) shall be protected by an application for a domestic patent and other necessary documents executed by the inventor (employee) prepared by or through the General Counsel, unless some other agency has primary interest or it is decided to dedicate the invention to the public. Such dedication requires approval of the Commissioner. Applications on behalf of the Government for foreign patents may be made if determined to be in the public interest. The payment of necessary expenses in connection with any application filed or patent obtained under this section by the Veterans Administration is authorized.

[31 FR 5291, Apr. 2, 1966]