American Heritage Funeral Home

Veteran services at American Heritage Funeral Home

For veterans in Houston, TX, American Heritage Funeral Home coordinates military honors and burial benefits. In their own words: "American Heritage Funeral Home is located next to Houston National Cemetery and designs services for veterans and active-duty personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces. They offer a Civil War-style horse-drawn caisson for military burials and have a strong relationship with the Patriot Guard Riders. The funeral home leads the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, coordinating with Houston National Cemetery to provide honorable services for veterans without families. They also serve families of Houston's first responders, including police officers and firefighters, with coordination with the Houston Fire Department Honor Guard." On-site amenities include flexible chapel space, chapel, and reserved veteran parking, suited to flag presentation and honors ceremonies. Published pricing lists $7,320 for basic burial and $3,650 for direct cremation. Veterans may qualify for county or federal allowances toward these costs.

Veteran-related services offered include cremation services, burial services, veterans planning, cremation remembrance jewelry, and online memorial. Each service is coordinated with the family and, where applicable, with the deceased's last unit or branch honor detail.

On-site facilities of note include flexible chapel space, chapel, reserved veteran parking, and gardens. These spaces accommodate full military honors details, family gatherings before and after the service, and the placement of the United States flag during the visitation period.

Published pricing at American Heritage Funeral Home: direct cremation from $3,360. That places direct cremation roughly 68% above the Texas median ($1,995). Veterans who served on active duty for at least 24 months may qualify for VA burial allowance to offset funeral costs — this home accepts assignment of those benefits where eligible.

The nearest VA national cemetery is Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene in TX, approximately 149 miles from American Heritage Funeral Home. American Heritage Funeral Home can coordinate transport, scheduling with the cemetery's interment office, and the timing of military honors with the receiving committal shelter.

Texas has approximately 1,496 licensed funeral homes serving its population, of which a subset specifically lists military funeral honors and VA benefits assistance among their services. American Heritage Funeral Home is among them.

Frequently asked questions

What sets American Heritage Funeral Home apart

• Located next door to Houston National Cemetery, facilitating veteran services.
• Leads the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, ensuring honorable burials for veterans without families.
• Offers a Civil War-style horse-drawn caisson for military and other burials.
• Specializes in serving families of first responders, including coordination with the Houston Fire Department Honor Guard.
• Staff experienced in a wide array of religious and cultural traditions, including Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Hispanic, and Asian customs.
• Provides flexible event spaces, a chapel, gardens, mausoleums, and reception rooms for personalized celebrations.

Military & veteran services offered

Burial & cremation services

On-site facilities

Affiliations & specializations

Religious traditions & languages

Religious traditions accommodated: Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic. Languages spoken at the home: Spanish/Español.

How honors are coordinated

Military funeral honors are guaranteed at no cost for any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The funeral home arranges the honors detail by contacting the deceased's last unit or the nearest active-duty installation of the appropriate branch and submitting the DD-214 to verify eligibility.

For requests less than 72 hours from service time, families can call the Department of Defense's expedited honors line at 1-877-MIL-HONR (1-877-645-4667). See the full honors protocol.