Sam Brown

The exception on this roster: a Senate-confirmed leader, in the job, doing it.

West Point graduate and retired Army captain, severely wounded in Kandahar on September 4, 2008 — burns over 30% of his body, 30+ surgeries, Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He founded a pharmacy-benefits company serving veterans and was the 2024 Republican Senate nominee in Nevada. Confirmed July 29, 2025 (54–44) and sworn in July 31, 2025 as the 8th Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs.

Accountable for: the National Cemetery Administration — 158 VA national cemeteries, headstones and markers, Presidential Memorial Certificates, and grants to state and tribal veterans cemeteries. When the veterans this site writes about are gone, his administration is the last VA office that owes them anything — and by most accounts the one that most reliably delivers it.

On video: dedication keynotes and confirmation-hearing video; no personal series.

Official page: National Cemetery Administration. Verified October 16, 2026.