Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is 12/07/2025 and all flags will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset. The rallying cry "Remember Pearl Harbor" continues to serve our nation today as a call for vigilance, preparedness, and strength in the face of those who would do our nation harm., from Nebraska State Proclamation signed by Governor Jim Palen.
Disabled Veteran (rated at least 0% by VA) Motor Vehicle Tax & Fee Exemption; receive an exemption for the motor vehicle tax and fee for one vehicle owned and used for your personal transportation! veterans.nebraska.gov/vehicletax for more information or contact Patricia Nelson, your Veteran Service Officer.
Patricia Nelson |
Veterans Service Officer |
Mission Statement – The County Veterans’ Service Office was created by state statute to assist veterans and their dependents in times of need, or to file for all County, State or Federal benefits earned by virtue of the military veteran’s service to a grateful Nation and the State of Nebraska. The Veterans’ Service Officer serves under the direction of the Veterans’ Service Committee appointed by the Board of Commissioners. Veterans’ Service is accomplished by:
- Being sensitive and helpful to veterans/dependents in their time of need.
- Providing assistance and counseling to veterans and their families.
- Initiating and completing claims to be submitted to the VA Regional Office, Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs, or other appropriate agencies with accuracy and professionalism.
- Maintaining the highest level of training and education to best serve veterans.
- Serving as a trusted and respected partner in collaboration with other agencies when assisting veterans.
State Benefits:
Nebraska Veterans’ Aid Fund (NVA)
- Waiver of Tuition
- Discharges
- Grave Registration
- Veterans Homes
This is a temporary emergency aid fund that assists veterans, their spouses, and dependents when unforeseen emergencies occur and other resources are not immediately available. For NVA purposes, a veteran is any person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who received an Honorable Discharge, or its equivalent. Application for the fund must be made through the County Service Officer or Post Service Officer of any recognized veterans’ organization in the county nearest the applicant’s place of residence and submitted to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Tuition Waiver
Tuition may be waived by the University of Nebraska, state colleges, and technical community colleges on behalf of any child, spouse, widower, or widow, resident of the State of Nebraska, whose parent was a member of the Armed Forces of the U.S. and who died of a service- connected disability in W.W.I as defined in State Statute 80-40.101, or who died of a service-connected disability on December 7, 1941, or subsequently until such future date as the Legislature shall determine, or who died subsequent to his discharge as a result of injury or illness sustained while a member of the Armed Forces which may or may not have resulted in total disability. Such tuition shall be similarly waived on behalf of any child whose father or mother is totally disabled or classified MIA or POW after August 4, 1964. To qualify, the applicant must be enrolled at the college and pay resident tuition rates. This is done through the Nebraska Dept of Veteran Affairs at 402-471-2458.
Discharges
The Department has approximately 700,000 discharges on microfilm. If a veteran entered from and returned to Nebraska upon separation from the military, a copy of the discharge may be on file. Certified copies are available at no charge to the veteran.
Grave Registration
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall preserve, by counties, a permanent registry of the graves of all persons who served in the Armed Forces in time of war or whose mortal remains rest in Nebraska. Information concerning the registry can be obtained from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or a County Service Officer.
Nebraska Veterans’ Homes
Nebraska has four veterans' homes located at Kearney, Norfolk, Bellevue, and Scottsbluff. The objective of these homes is to provide domiciliary and nursing home care and subsistence to active duty veterans provided that the veteran meets at least a two year residency requirement, and has become disabled due to service, old age, or other wise to an extent that it would prevent such applicant from earning a livelihood. Entitlement for admission extends to the spouse of any such person admitted to one of the homes who has attained the age of fifty years and married to the such member for at least two years before his or her entrance into the home, also, to the surviving spouses and parents of eligible servicemen and women who died while on active duty or who have since died of a service-connected disability as determined by the VA and who have obtained the age of fifty and meet residency requirement of two years in the state. (Ref: State Statute 80-316) Applications are made through the County Veterans Service Officer in the county in which the applicant resides. Completed applications are then submitted to the director of Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Secretary for the Veterans’ Homes Board, for approval of legal eligibility and assessment of any maintenance fees and referral to the Veterans Homes for medical eligibility and further processing. All applications are forwarded to the Veterans’ Homes Board for final action regarding admission. For more information on the Veterans Homes, go to http://www.hhss.ne.gov/vets/
County Services
Nebraska Veteran's Aid Fund (NVA) (help with food, rent, mortgage, utilities, eye glasses, hearing aids, dental bills, medical bills, transportation, daycare, funeral expenses
Discharges: request relief to improve discharge type
The County Veterans Aid Fund is a temporary emergency fund to assist veterans, their spouses, and dependents when there is an unforeseen emergency, and there are no other resources available.
Flag Holders are available to the family of any deceased Veteran, buried in Deuel County who served during “war time” and received an Honorable Discharge. One marker is provided to the family at no cost.
Federal Assistance
- Burial benefits: payment assistance for burial expenses, applying for headstones or markers, opening and closing a the grave, among others.
- Home Loan Guaranties (we supply you with your certificate to take to a bank).
- Compensation (DIC) if you are the surviving spouse, child, or parent of a service member who died in the line of duty, or the survivor of a Veteran who dies from a service-related injury or illness, there may be a tax-free monetary benefit.
- Survivor Pension offers monthly payments for survivors of war time veterans who meet qualifications.
- Correction of military records
- Finding/replacing military records
- Board of Veteran's Appeals
- Vocational rehabilitation
- US Court of Veterans' Appeals
