§ 215. Retirement of and pensions for certain veterans. 1. Any
soldier, sailor or marine of the army or navy of the United States in
the civil war, Spanish-American war, or world war I, honorably
discharged from service, and any member of the organized militia of the
state having performed active service as such with his organization in
aid of federal or civil authorities, for a period of not less than ten
consecutive days, who shall have been employed for a period of twenty
years or more in the military or naval service of the state of New York
under pay from funds raised as provided for in this chapter for the pay
of such employees, may, upon reaching the age of sixty-four years upon
his own request and the approval of the adjutant general, or shall, upon
being discharged or released from such employment without fault on his
part after reaching the age of fifty years after serving as aforesaid,
or upon being incapacitated from performing the duties of his position
after twenty years of such service, be retired from such employment with
the approval of the adjutant general, and thereafter during his life
there shall be paid to him, in the same manner and by the same agency
and from the same source that the compensation of his former position
was customarily paid to him, an annual sum equal in amount to one-half
of the compensation paid to him in the last year of his employment.

2. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of any
person who, on or after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-four, enters
or re-enters military or naval service of the state under pay from funds
raised as provided for in this chapter. For the purposes of this
subdivision, a person who entered or re-entered such service before such
date shall be deemed to continue therein during the time he performs
military duty under a leave of absence therefor pursuant to section two
hundred forty-two or section two hundred forty-three of this chapter.