{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-40.400","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 40.400","heading":"Definitions for KRS 40.410 to 40.560.","body":"As used in KRS 40.410 to 40.560:\n(1) \"Department of Military Affairs\" means the office of the adjutant general,\nCommonwealth of Kentucky;\n(2) \"Administrator\" means the individual designated by the adjutant general to carry\nout the responsibilities of KRS 40.410 to 40.560;\n(3) \"Armed Forces\" m eans the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force,\nSpace Force, and Coast Guard, including the reserve components thereof on active\nduty, other than for training, and shall not include the merchant marine;\n(4) \"Qualified veteran\" means any person whose period of active duty service meets the\ncriteria set forth in subsection (5) or (6) of this section;\n(5) \"Qualifying Vietnam service\" means service by any person who:\n(a) Served as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States in Vietnam or\nits contiguous waters or airspace, as defined in United States Department of\nDefense Directive 1348.15, October 1, 1965, for a period of at least thirty (30)\ndays, unless such period was lessened as a result of death or medical\nevacuation, during the period Jul y 1, 1958, through May 15, 1975; or served\nas a member of the Armed Forces of the United States in the Dominican\nRepublic, Congo, Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia, or participated in aerial\nmissions in the airspace over same, for a period of at least thirty (30 ) days,\nunless such period was lessened as a result of death or medical evacuation,\nduring the period July 3, 1965, through May 15, 1975; or served as a member\nof the Armed Forces of the United States and was awarded, or was eligible for\naward of, the Viet nam Service Medal established by United States\nDepartment of Defense Directive 1348.15, October 1, 1965;\n(b) Was released, separated, or discharged from the Armed Forces under other\nthan dishonorable conditions or who is presently serving on active duty;\n(c) Was a resident of the Commonwealth at the time of entry into active service\nin the Armed Forces and for at least six (6) months prior thereto; and\n(d) Has not received a similar bonus for such service from any other state;\n(6) \"Qualifying Vietnam era service\" means service by any person who:\n(a) Served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, including\nservice in a reserve component there of other than for training, for at least\nninety (90) consecutive days, exclusive of time lost as AWOL or in penal\nconfinement, during the period August 5, 1964, to May 15, 1975, but whose\nservice was in a location not included in subsection (5)(a) of this section;\n(b) Was released, separated, or discharged from the Armed Forces under other\nthan dishonorable conditions or is still serving on active duty;\n(c) Was a resident of the Commonwealth at the time of his or her entry into active\nservice in the Armed Forces and for at least six (6) months prior thereto; and\n(d) Has not received a similar bonus for such service from any other state;\n(7) \"Resident of the Commonwealth at the time of entry into the active service\" means\nany person who gave the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or any specific place in this\nCommonwealth, as his or her place of residence at the time of entry. Conclusive\nand exclusive evidence of the giving of place of residence shall be the official\nrecords on file in the Department of Defense of the United States, or any official\nrecord thereof in the files of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; but\nif it be shown to the satisfaction of the administrator that for any reason no such\nrecord was made, or that it has been lost, misplaced, de stroyed, or was in error, or\nthat an authenticated copy thereof cannot be obtained within a reasonable time,\nother evidence of bona fide residence may be accepted if deemed sufficient by the\nadministrator;\n(8) \"Resident,\" in any context other than as in su bsections (5) and (6) of this section,\nmeans a legal resident as determined by generally established principles of law, as\nmay be defined, and subject to proof, according to the regulations the administrator\npromulgates;\n(9) \"Beneficiary\" means the followi ng persons who were alive at the time of\napplication, in this order: widow, if none to the child or children equally, if none to\nthe mother and father equally, but if the father is dead, the mother, if living, shall\ntake the whole amount; but if the mother  is dead, the father, if living, shall take the\nwhole amount;\n(10) (a) \"Widow\" means a woman who was the wife of a qualified veteran at the time\nof his death;\n(b) The term \"widow\" also includes \"widower\" in the case of a man who was the\nhusband of a female qualified veteran at the time of her death;\n(11) \"Child\" means a person:\n(a) Who is under the age of eighteen (18) at the time application is made or who\nwas under the age of eighteen (18) at the time of the veteran's death;\n(b) Who, before attaining the age of eighteen (18), became permanently incapable\nof self-support; or\n(c) Who, after attaining the age of eighteen (18) and until completion of\neducation or training, but not after attaining the age of twenty -three (23), is\npursuing a course of instructio n at a bona fide educational institution; and\nwho, in relationship to the veteran, is a legitimate child; a legally adopted\nchild; a stepchild who is a member of a qualified veteran's household or was a\nmember at the time of the veteran's death; or an ille gitimate child, but, as to\nthe alleged father, only if acknowledged in writing signed by him or if he had,\nbefore his death, been judicially decreed to be the father of such child;\n(12) \"Mother\" means a mother, a mother through adoption, or a woman who for a period\nof not less than one (1) year stood in the relationship of a mother to a qualified\nveteran before his or her entry into active service in the Armed Forces, or if two (2)\npersons stood in such relationship for one (1) year or more, the person who last\nstood in such relationship before the veteran's last entry into active service in the\nArmed Forces;\n(13) \"Father\" means a father, a father through adoption, or a man who for a period of not\nless than one (1) year stood in the relationship of a father to a qualified veteran\nbefore his or her entry into active service in the Armed Forces, or if two (2) persons\nstood in such relationship for one (1) year or more, the person who last stood in\nsuch relationship before the veteran's last entry into active se rvice in the Armed\nForces;\n(14) \"In the continental United States\" means any place in the District of Columbia and\nthe states of the United States which are on the North American continent,\nexclusive of Alaska;\n(15) \"Outside the continental United States\" means any place elsewhere than as defined\nin subsection (14) of this section;\n(16) \"Bonus\" and \"Vietnam veterans' bonus\" mean the compensation authorized by KRS\n40.410 to 40.560;\n(17) \"Bonus claim\" means a claim or potential claim for a Vietnam veterans' bonus; and\n(18) \"Claimant\" means one who seeks to obtain payment of a bonus claim.","path":["KRS Chapter 40"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54970","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:00Z","sha256":"d4f6db0258cd53bcb9c93885bbd9bbeabbcb8446ced5554163e89e689e099697","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-40.366","next":"us-ky/krs-40.410"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}