In Recognition of

The efforts of all who seek to place grave markers on the graves of Soldiers giving the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United State of America and the Commonwealth as follows:

Whereas: Many deceased military members are buried in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence and other locations in the Merrimack Valley, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and throughout the United States without any identification of their graves to memorialize the honor and circumstance of their military service or even to know who is buried in the grave; and

Whereas: Those lawfully permitted to apply to the “Department of Veteran’s Affairs” to provide and place grave markers on the graves of deceased Veterans included family members who were “next of kin” of the deceased, a person authorized in writing by the “next of kin” and Cemetery Superintendents until revision of the authority of Cemetery Superintendents from the application;

Whereas: Although the purpose of the amended Federal Regulation is to avoid and prevent the possibility that a person lacking a familial relationship to the deceased Veteran from altering the Veteran’s gravesite in a manner not consistent with the intentions of the Veteran’s Family;

Whereas: Despite the “good intentions” of the new regulation, Veteran’s groups and Cemetery Superintendents agree that the new regulation fails to make any reasonable provision to submit an application for headstones or grave markers for Veterans who may no longer have “next of kin” alive or available to meet the strictly applied application standards which fail to recognize circumstances of time, war, illness and other service associated causes result in the inability to obtain headstones and grave markers for deceased Veterans entitled to be recognized and honored in this way;

Whereas: It is hereby recognized that the new application process put into effect in 2009 actually hinders, obstructs and denies the availability of headstones and grave markers to deceased Veterans buried in Our Community and as a result, fails to provide honor and dignity to deceased Veterans, their Families and the Lawrence Community who cannot obtain headstones and grave markers because of the new application standards;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Massachusetts House of Representatives hereby recognize, support and join the efforts of Chapter 2 of the Disabled American Veterans, Cemetery Superintendents and all who seek to compel  the amendment of the current Federal Regulation through legislation that will facilitate and increase the availability of headstones and grave markers under usual and special circumstances in order to appropriately honor and memorialize deceased Veterans of this and all Communities hereby set our hands and cause the Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be affixed this the 6th day of August, in the year Two Thousand and Fifteen.

Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by the clerk of the House of Representatives to our Representatives in Congress.