HR 5197 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and dependent children of veterans whose remains are unavailable, and for other purposes.

(a) The Secretary shall furnish, when requested, appropriate Government headstones or markers at the expense of the United States for the unmarked graves of the following: (1) Any individual buried in a national cemetery or in a post cemetery. (2) Any individual eligible for burial in a national cemetery (but not buried there), except for those persons or classes of persons enumerated in section 2402(a)(4), (5), and (6) of this title. (3) Soldiers of the Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War. (4) Any individual described in section 2402(a)(5) of this title who is buried in a veterans’ cemetery owned by a State or a veterans’ cemetery owned by a tribal organization or on land owned by or held in trust for a tribal organization. (5) Any individual who at the time of death was entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10 or would have been entitled to retired pay under that chapter but for the fact that the person was under 60 years of age. (b) (1) The Secretary shall furnish, when requested, an appropriate memorial headstone or marker for the purpose of commemorating an eligible individual whose remains are unavailable. Such a headstone or marker shall be furnished for placement in a national cemetery area reserved for that purpose under section 2403 of this title, a veterans’ cemetery owned by a State, a veterans’ cemetery of a tribal organization or on land owned by or held in trust for a tribal organization, or, in the case of a veteran, in a State, local, or private cemetery. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), an eligible individual is any of the following: (A) A veteran. (B) An individual who dies on or after November 11, 1998, who is the spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran, or the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty under conditions other than dishonorable, as shown by a statement from a general court-martial convening authority, at the time of the spouse’s death if such death occurs before September 30, 2032. (C) An individual who dies on or after November 11, 1998, who is an eligible dependent child of a veteran, or the eligible dependent child of a member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty under conditions other than dishonorable, as shown by a statement from a general court-martial convening authority, at the time of the child’s death if such death occurs before September 30, 2032. (3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the remains of an individual shall be considered to be unavailable if the individual’s remains— (A) have not been recovered or identified; (B) were buried at sea, whether by the individual’s own choice or otherwise; (C) were donated to science; or (D) were cremated and the ashes scattered without interment of any portion of the ashes. (4) For purposes of this subsection: (A) The term “veteran” includes an individual who dies in the active military, naval, air, or space service. (B) The term “surviving spouse” includes a surviving spouse who had a subsequent remarriage. (5) For purposes of this section, the term “eligible dependent child” means a child— (A) who is under 21 years of age, or under 23 years of age if pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution; or (B) who is unmarried and became permanently physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support before reaching 21 years of age, or before reaching 23 years of age if pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution. (c) A headstone or marker furnished under subsection (a), (b), or (d) of this section may be of any material, including but not limited to marble, granite, bronze, or slate, requested by the person entitled to request such headstone or marker if the material requested is determined by the Secretary (1) to be cost effective, and (2) in a case in which the headstone or marker is to be placed in a national cemetery, to be aesthetically compatible with the area of the cemetery in which it is to be placed. (d) (1) The Secreta...