If any person who, in time of war, served in the military or naval forces of the English colonies in America, prior to 1776, or of the state of Connecticut or in the armed forces of the United States, and was credited to said colonies, state or the United States, died during such service of disease or wounds, or was killed in action, died in prison or was lost at sea, and whose body was never brought home for interment, or who was reported missing in action and has not been heard from, the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs shall, upon proper application, with satisfactory proof, made by the chief executive authority of the municipality of which the deceased was a resident, as to his identity and honorable service, cause to be erected in any cemetery or public place in such municipality, at a cost to the state of not more than fifty dollars, a marker or soldier’s headstone, having inscribed thereon the name of such person, the organization to which he belonged, and the place of his death or burial or when he was reported as missing in action or lost at sea.