The Veteran Cemetery Mapping Project (VCMP) is a grass roots movement whose mission is to locate the final resting spots of America's Veterans, document that information and location, and finally structure that data for inclusion into the Veteran Administration's Veteran Legacy Memorial (VLM) database.
The Big Why -
Prior to 1996, veterans buried in city or private cemeteries data was not captured by the Veterans Administration. An authoritative database just didn't exist. There are potentially millions of veterans buried across the United States and her territories whose final resting location and data is not cataloged within an authoritative database (the VLM).
The Little Whys -
Local communities know their local communites. The VCMP is designed to be a hands-on history project uniting Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), youth groups (Scouts, 4H, etc.), and community organizations (historical, genealogical, etc.) for a common cause.