N.Y. Town Law § 295: Removal of remains of deceased members of armed forces

§ 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.