GovCIO Renews Vow to Veterans with Continued Digital Memorial Platform Support

FAIRFAX, Va. – February 25, 2026 – Technology solutions provider GovCIO has secured a renewed contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to continue its work on the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM), a sprawling digital platform dedicated to honoring the nation’s service members. The recompete award reaffirms a long-standing partnership and ensures the continued growth of what has become the country’s largest digital space for veteran remembrance.

Since its launch in 2019, the VLM has transformed how millions of Americans connect with the legacies of those who served. The platform, managed by the VA's National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and developed with GovCIO's technical expertise, provides a permanent online memorial for every veteran interred in a VA national cemetery and many other locations. The renewed contract tasks GovCIO with further enhancing the platform's capabilities and maintaining a reliable, user-friendly experience for families, researchers, and the public.

"We are honored to continue our partnership with the VA on a platform that holds deep meaning for Veterans and their families," said Kristin Gill, Sector President of Veteran and Enterprise Technology Services at GovCIO. "This award reflects the trust placed in our team to support an experience that preserves the legacies of those who served."

The Digital Evolution of Remembrance

What began in 2019 with roughly 3.7 million memorial pages has expanded exponentially. Today, the VLM hosts more than 10 million individual pages, a testament to the NCA’s effort to create a comprehensive memorial archive. The database now includes veterans from VA-funded state and tribal cemeteries, military-managed sites like Arlington National Cemetery, and even private cemeteries where a veteran received a VA-provided grave marker.

GovCIO, the prime contractor since the project's inception, has been instrumental in this growth, not just in scale but in depth. The platform has moved far beyond a static list of names and dates. Through a series of human-centered design enhancements, it has evolved into a rich, interactive space for collective memory. Users can post tributes, upload photos, share historical documents, and build timelines of a veteran's life and military service. These contributions have turned sterile records into vibrant portraits of individual lives.

The public has responded with enthusiasm. The platform has received over 165,000 user submissions, with content uploads reportedly increasing by 350% between 2020 and 2021 alone. This engagement underscores a societal shift towards digital forms of memorialization, allowing families to overcome the geographic distance that might prevent a visit to a physical gravesite.

A Proactive Approach to Legacy Storytelling

A groundbreaking evolution of the platform came in 2025 with the launch of the "Your Story, Your Legacy" feature. This innovative tool represents a paradigm shift from posthumous remembrance to proactive legacy creation. For the first time, living veterans are empowered to document their own histories in their own words.

Eligible veterans—specifically those who have received pre-need approval for burial in a VA national cemetery—can create a private profile to upload autobiographical information, personal photographs, military service details, and other important life documents. This content is securely stored by the VA and remains private during the veteran's lifetime. Upon their passing and the approval of a burial benefit, the veteran-curated content is published to their permanent VLM page, ensuring their personal narrative is preserved for posterity.

This feature directly addresses a long-standing challenge in historical preservation: capturing first-person accounts before they are lost. It allows veterans to shape how they are remembered, providing context and emotion that official records often lack. For families, it offers an invaluable gift—a direct connection to their loved one's voice and experiences, creating a bridge across generations.

A Trusted Partner in Federal Digital Transformation

The VLM contract is a cornerstone of GovCIO's extensive work within the federal government, particularly with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The successful recompete is not an isolated event but rather a reflection of a deeply embedded strategic partnership built on consistent performance.

GovCIO's federal footprint is substantial. The company holds numerous high-value, long-term contracts to modernize critical VA systems. These include a five-year, $65 million contract to enhance Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) services and a massive five-year, $390 million award to support the VA's Health Services Portfolio. This track record of securing and executing large-scale digital transformation projects has positioned GovCIO as a key player in the government's effort to deliver modern, user-centric services.

"Supporting the VLM program is a privilege," stated Jim Brabston, GovCIO CEO. "We remain committed to strengthening the platform so families and communities can continue to honor their Veterans with dignity and respect."

This commitment extends to other NCA initiatives, such as a $12 million task order to modernize the software for cemetery kiosks, integrating them with VLM's advanced search features. By consistently delivering on complex projects, the company has solidified its reputation as a reliable partner capable of handling sensitive and impactful digital services for the veteran community.

Redefining Memorialization in the Digital Age

The Veterans Legacy Memorial stands as a powerful example of how technology can augment and expand traditional forms of remembrance. While private digital memorial sites exist, the scale, official backing, and innovative features of VLM place it in a class of its own. It serves the dual purpose of a national monument and a personal scrapbook, accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

By leveraging technology, the VA and GovCIO are ensuring that the legacies of American veterans are not confined to stone markers in distant fields. Instead, their stories, service, and sacrifices are preserved in a dynamic, accessible, and enduring digital format. The platform ensures that a veteran's history can be explored by a grandchild in a classroom, a historian researching a forgotten conflict, or a fellow service member paying their respects from halfway around the world, making the act of remembrance a living, continuous process.