(1)    Each county veterans service officer shall cause to be interred in a decent and respectable manner in any cemetery in this state, other than those used exclusively for the burial of paupers, the body of any veteran, spouse, or surviving spouse who was living in the county at the time of death and who dies not leaving sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of a decent burial, or under circumstances that would cause financial distress to the person‘s family. The cost of this interment shall be the responsibility of the county, but may not be less than $300, and shall be in addition to the burial allowance payable under laws administered by the U.S. department of veterans affairs.

   (2)   Before assuming the burial expense, the county veterans service officer shall exercise due diligence in attempting to determine the financial condition required by sub. (1). The county veterans service officer, in making the inquiry, may use the facilities for investigation that are made available by the county board. The county veterans service officer shall report the results of that determination to the appropriate authorities designated by the county.

   (3)   The chairperson of the county board and the clerk of the county on the receipt of the report under sub. (2) shall draw an order on the county treasurer for the amount of expenses so incurred, payable to the person designated in the report as being entitled to that payment. The county veterans service officer of each county shall, upon the death and burial of a veteran described under sub. (1) who was living in the county at the time of death, make application to the proper authorities for a suitable headstone as provided for by act of congress, and at the expense of the county cause the same to be placed at the head of the deceased’s grave.