§ 295. Removal of remains of deceased members of armed forces. Upon a
verified petition presented to a judge of a court of record by any armed
forces' organization in any town or city in this state by a majority of
its officers, or a majority of any memorial committee in any town or
city where there are two or more veteran armed forces' organizations, or
in towns or cities where there are no veteran armed forces'
organizations, upon the petition of five or more veterans of the armed
forces, the judge to whom said verified petition is presented shall make
an order to show cause, returnable before him or her at a time and place
within the county in not less than fourteen or more than twenty days
from the date of presentation of said petition, why the remains of any
deceased members of the armed forces buried in potter's field, or in any
neglected or abandoned cemeteries, should not be removed to and
reinterred in a properly kept incorporated cemetery in the same town or
city or in a town adjoining the town or city in which the remains of a
deceased member of the armed forces are buried, and to fix the amount of
the expenses for such removal and reinterment, and the order to show
cause shall provide for its publication in a newspaper, to be designated
in the order, which is published nearest to the cemetery from which the
removal is sought to be made, once in each week for two successive
weeks. The verified petition presented to the judge shall show that the
petitioners are a majority of the officers of a veteran armed forces
organization, or a majority of a memorial committee in towns or cities
where two or more veteran armed forces organizations exist, or that the
petitioners are honorably discharged veterans of the armed forces in
towns or cities where no veteran armed forces organization exists, or
that the petitioners have a qualifying condition, as defined in section
one of the veterans' services law, and received a discharge other than
bad conduct or dishonorable from such service and are in towns or cities
where no veteran armed forces organizations exist, or that the
petitioners are discharged LGBT veterans, as defined in section one of
the veterans' services law, and received a discharge other than bad
conduct or dishonorable from such service and are in towns and cities
where no veteran armed forces organizations exist, and (1) the name of
the deceased member or members of the armed forces, whose remains are
sought to be removed, and if known the unit in which he, she or they
served; (2) the name and location of the cemetery in which he or she is
interred and from which removal is asked to be made; (3) the name and
location of the incorporated cemetery to which the remains are desired
to be removed and reinterred; (4) the facts showing the reasons for such
removal. Upon the return day of the order to show cause and at the time
and place fixed in said order, upon filing proof of publication of the
order to show cause with the judge, if no objection is made thereto, he
or she shall make an order directing the removal of the remains of said
deceased member or members of the armed forces to the cemetery
designated in the petition within the town or city or within a town
adjoining the town or city in which the remains are then buried and
shall specify in the order the amount of the expenses of such removal,
which expenses of removal and reinterment, including the expense of the
proceeding under this section, shall be a charge upon the county in
which the town or city is situated from which the removal is made and
such expenses shall be a county charge and audited by the board of
supervisors of the county and paid in the same manner as other county
charges. On and after the removal and reinterment of the remains of the
deceased member or members of the armed forces in the armed forces'
plot, the expenses for annual care of the grave in the armed forces'
burial plot to which the removal is made shall be annually provided by
the town or city in which the remains were originally buried, at the
rate of not to exceed twenty dollars per grave, and shall be paid
annually to the incorporated cemetery association to which the remains
of each deceased member of the armed forces may be removed and
reinterred. The petition and order shall be filed in the county clerk's
office of the county in which the remains of the deceased member of the
armed forces were originally interred, and the service of a certified
copy of the final order upon the cemetery association shall be made
prior to any removal. Any relative of the deceased member or members of
the armed forces, or the officer of any cemetery association in which
the remains of the deceased member or members of the armed forces were
originally interred, or the authorities of the county in which the
member or members of the armed forces were originally buried, may oppose
the granting of said order and the judge shall summarily hear the
statement of the parties and make such order as the justice and equity
of the application shall require. Any headstone or monument which marks
the grave of the deceased member of the armed forces shall be removed
and reset at the grave in the cemetery in which the removal is permitted
to be made and in each case the final order shall provide the amount of
the expenses of such removals and reinterment and resetting of the
headstone or monument, including the expenses of the proceedings under
this section; except that where provision is otherwise made for the
purchase or erection of a new headstone, monument or marker at the grave
in the cemetery to which such removal is permitted, such old headstone
or monument need not be so removed and reset, in which case such final
order shall not provide for the expense of resetting. The order shall
designate the person or persons having charge of the removals and
reinterments. Upon completion of the removal, reinterment and resetting
of the headstones or monuments, the person or persons having charge of
the same shall make a verified report of the removal, reinterment and
resetting of the headstone or monument and file the report in the
clerk's office of the proper county. The words "member of the armed
forces" shall be construed to mean a member of the armed forces who
served in the armed forces of the United States and who (5) was
honorably discharged from such service, or (6) has a qualifying
condition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and
has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from
such service, or (7) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other
than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, and the words "armed
forces plot" shall be construed to mean a plot of land in any
incorporated cemetery set apart to be exclusively used as a place for
interring the remains of deceased veterans of the armed forces of the
United States.