If a headstone is provided by the United States government for the purpose of marking the grave of a veteran who had been a resident of South Dakota for one year preceding entrance into military service or preceding death or if a memorial headstone or marker is provided by the United States government to commemorate any member of the armed forces of the United States dying in the service, whose remains have not been recovered or identified or were buried at sea, the veterans’ service officer or field officer shall cause the headstone or memorial headstone or marker to be erected. The expense of erecting the headstone or memorial headstone or marker must be paid by the state and may not exceed two hundred dollars. No payment for the expense is allowed unless a claim is filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs within one year of the date the headstone or memorial headstone or marker is erected.

An individual responsible for the execution of the estate of a deceased veteran authorized to receive a headstone or memorial headstone or marker may elect to purchase a headstone at personal expense but may receive the one-hundred-dollar state stipend for erecting the headstone or memorial headstone or marker if the name, rank, branch of service, and dates of birth and death of the veteran are professionally etched on the backside of the headstone.

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Source: SL 1887, ch 151, § 3; CL 1887, § 2471; RPolC 1903, § 3239; RC 1919, § 9965; SDC 1939, § 41.0303; SL 1939, ch 156, § 3; SL 1941, ch 173, § 2; SL 1949, ch 155, § 2; SL 1961, ch 207; SL 1968, ch 160, § 2; SL 1974, ch 233; SL 1976, ch 208, § 2; SL 1986, ch 275; SL 2009, ch 162, § 1; § 33-19-5; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), § 20, eff. Apr. 12, 2011; SL 2023, ch 113, § 1; SL 2023, ch 114, § 1.