The names and legacies of nearly 5 million veterans and service members have been added to an online database operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, doubling the number of individuals whose military records and contributions are commemorated, the agency announced Thursday.

The Veterans Legacy Memorial, which was launched in 2019, is an interactive VA website that honors the men and women who served in the U.S. military, dating to the Revolutionary War. 

“Keeping alive the legacy of veterans who have served is a personal mission,” said Matt Quinn, undersecretary for memorial affairs at the VA. “You see my grandfather, my father, my brother and three of my uncles are interred in veterans’ cemeteries. Their grave marker should not be the final remembrance.”

The newest addition of 5 million names to the site represents veterans and service members interred at private cemeteries across the country, the VA said. 

The online memorial honors veterans and service members with individual web pages that users can visit to submit photos, post tributes and learn about their military service. 

Service members at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the nation’s oldest national cemetery, are among the veterans identified on the website. 

The VA has used public databases to help identify service members and veterans and to provide background on their military records. 

You can read more in an article in the Stars and Stripes web site at: https://tinyurl.com/yfzhsj5n.