(a) As used in this section, “veteran” means any person who is a veteran, as defined in § 27-103, who (1) has completed at least twenty years of qualifying service, as described in and computed under 10 USC chapter 1223, as amended from time to time, in the Connecticut National Guard; or (2) was killed in action, or who died as a result of accident or illness sustained while performing active service, in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard or any women’s auxiliary branch thereof, organized pursuant to an Act of Congress, or in the Connecticut National Guard.

(b) (1) Any veteran may, by letter or other communication addressed to the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, or by will, request that upon his or her death his or her body be buried in a veterans’ cemetery established pursuant to § 27-122a, or (2) the spouse or other next of kin may apply to the commissioner to have the body of such veteran buried in said veterans’ cemetery, and in either case such request shall be granted.

(c) (1) Any member or former member of the armed forces, as defined in subsection (a) of § 27-103, who is a resident of this state and is entitled to retirement pay under 10 USC chapter 1223, as amended from time to time, or would have been entitled to retirement pay under said chapter, but for the fact that the person is under sixty years of age, may by letter or other communication addressed to the commissioner, or by will, request that his or her body will be buried in said veterans’ cemetery, or (2) the spouse or other next of kin may apply to the commissioner to have the body of such member or former member buried in said veterans’ cemetery, and, in either case, such request shall be granted.

(d) (1) (A) Any person who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, which units served in the United States secret war in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War, may, by letter or other communication addressed to the commissioner, or by will, request that upon his or her death his or her body be buried in a veterans’ cemetery established pursuant to § 27-122a, or (B) the spouse or other next of kin may apply to the commissioner to have the body of such person buried in said veterans’ cemetery, and in either case such request shall be granted.

(2) Such person who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, or the spouse or next of kin of such person, shall provide to the commissioner (A) an affidavit stating (i) when the person served, (ii) where the person served, (iii) the unit in which the person served, and (iv) the capacity in which the person served; (B) any available corroborating witness affidavits; (C) any available official documentation of service; and (D) any other documents supporting the affidavit.

(e) The spouse of any veteran, or the spouse of any person who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units described in subsection (d) of this section, shall, upon similar request or application made to the commissioner, be buried in said veterans’ cemetery provided only one such request or application shall be granted.

(f) The commissioner shall designate an area in said veterans’ cemetery for veterans and any persons who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units described in subsection (d) of this section who, for religious reasons, require burial in a consecrated area.