II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2700 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who are 

eligible to request headstones or markers furnished by the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2014 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who are eligible to request headstones or markers 

furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honor Those Who 

5 Served Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST HEADSTONES OR 

2 MARKERS FURNISHED BY THE SECRETARY 

3 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2306 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(h)(1) A person may request a headstone or marker 

8 to commemorate a decedent under this section if the per9 son is— 

10 ‘‘(A) the decedent’s next of kin; 

11 ‘‘(B) a person authorized in writing by the de12 cedent’s next of kin to make such request; 

13 ‘‘(C) a personal representative authorized in 

14 writing by the decedent to make such request; 

15 ‘‘(D) in the case of a decedent for which no per16 son described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) may 

17 be identified, a State veterans service agency, a mili18 tary researcher, a local historian, or a genealogist or 

19 other person familiar with the research sources and 

20 methods necessary to prove the identity of the dece21 dent; or 

22 ‘‘(E) in the case of a decedent who is a veteran 

23 who served on active duty in the Armed Forces at 

24 least 75 years before the date on which the head25 stone or marker is requested, any person. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a request for a headstone or mark2 er under this section for a decedent described in subpara3 graph (E) of paragraph (1) made by a person who is not 

4 the decedent’s next of kin, the Secretary shall ensure that 

5 the decedent’s next of kin has the opportunity to object 

6 to the placement of the headstone or marker or request 

7 the removal of the headstone or marker, as appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(3) In the case of a request for a headstone or mark9 er under this section for a decedent described in subpara10 graph (D) or (E) of paragraph (1) made by a person who 

11 is not described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of such 

12 paragraph, the person requesting the headstone or marker 

13 may only request an emblem of belief for the headstone 

14 or marker if the person can provide sufficient evidence re15 garding the religious beliefs of the decedent.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (h) of section 

17 2306 of such title, as added by subsection (a), shall apply 

18 with respect to a request for a headstone or marker sub19 mitted after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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