Section 5113 - Markers on graves; memorial certificates; headstones(a) The county commissioners of the county shall from time to time, as they consider expedient, procure appropriate markers for the graves of deceased service persons and the graves of all other deceased persons who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine during World War II or any organization officially connected therewith and whose separation from such service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise. Such markers shall be of cast bronze, aluminum or a suitable substitute material.(b) The county commissioners shall procure bronze, aluminum or suitable substitute material markers from some manufacturer or manufacturers engaged in the manufacturing of the same, and in the contract for the furnishing thereof the manufacturer furnishing the bronze markers shall warrant that the same are made of the following metals and in the following proportions: copper, eighty-five per centum; tin, five per centum; zinc, five per centum; and lead, five per centum.(c) The manufacturer shall be liable to the county to an amount equal to the sum paid to him by the county for the markers if the above proportions of metals are not contained in the markers.(d) Nothing, except actual fraud on the part of the county commissioners, shall render them liable for any amount if it is established that the markers are not composed of the metals in the proportions above recited.(e) No officer, trustee, association, corporation or person in control of any cemetery or a public burying ground shall have the right to question the composition of such bronze markers, or to require that any of them be chemically analyzed before being placed in the cemetery, or under any circumstances to refuse to permit the erection thereof in the cemetery or public burying ground, or to charge for making the foundations for the same more than is charged for making similar foundations of the same proportions. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this subsection shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each offense.(f) The county commissioners of the county are hereby authorized and directed to place a marker upon the grave of each deceased service person and the graves of all other deceased persons who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine during World War II or any organization officially connected therewith and whose separation from such service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise, who, at the time of his or her death, had his or her legal residence in the county, whether or not he or she died in the county and whether or not he or she was buried in the county, and upon the grave of each deceased service person buried in the county who, at the time of his or her death, did not have a legal residence within this Commonwealth. When such deceased service person shall have been a veteran of any war or campaign for which the Government of the United States issued discharge buttons, the markers designated for their graves shall include a facsimile of said discharge button. When such markers are upright flag holders they shall consist of cast bronze or any other weather resistant material. When such deceased service person shall have been a veteran of the Korean Conflict, the markers designated for their graves shall include a circular emblem with the words "Korea, U.S., 1950-1953" in the border thereof, and shall incorporate the insignia of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, in the form approved by the Veterans' Commission. In lieu of placing an upright flag holder on the grave, if the next of kin of a veteran so requests, a memorial certificate may be issued to the next-of-kin of a deceased service person who at the time of his or her death had his or her legal residence in the county, whether or not he or she died in the county and whether or not he or she was buried in the county. The memorial certificate shall indicate the deceased service person's name and designate the war or campaign in which the deceased service person served.(g) It shall be the duty of the county commissioners of the county upon or at any time subsequent to the death of any deceased service person who, at the time of his or her death, had his or her legal residence in the county, on application as hereinafter provided, to cause a headstone or bronze memorial tablet to be placed at the head of or on the grave of each such deceased service person and the graves of all other deceased persons who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine during World War II or any organization officially connected therewith and whose separation from such service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise.(h) Each headstone shall contain his or her name and the rank and organization to which he or she belonged or in which he or she served, in letters raised or cut in at least three-sixteenths of an inch deep. The headstone shall be of either marble or granite and shall be placed or set in a concrete base at least three feet deep, or if a headstone has been provided for such grave by the United States Government, the county commissioners shall provide the concrete base therefor, or if lettering only on an existing memorial is desired by the family, the county commissioners shall provide such lettering.(i) In the event the body of any deceased service person either cannot or will not be returned to the United States of America, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners to cause a headstone to be placed in the family plot of such deceased service person. Said headstone shall have inscribed therein: (1) the name, rank and organization of such deceased service person; (2) the name of the country, location or manner in which such person lost his or her life; and (3) the cemetery or location in which the body, if buried, was finally laid to rest. Application therefor shall in each case be made on forms prescribed by the Department of Military Affairs, and may be made by any relative of the deceased service person, or by a friend if there is no objection by the nearest relative. Each application must be approved by an organization of veterans of any war in which the United States has been, is now, or shall hereafter be engaged.(j) The expense in each case shall be borne by the county in which the deceased service person had his or her legal residence at the time of his or her death, whether or not he or she died in the county and whether or not he or she was buried in the county. The expense shall not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) for each headstone or concrete base or lettering or bronze memorial tablet, and the county commissioners of the county, acting under this section, shall cause to be drawn a warrant on the treasury of the county for the payment of said expense in favor of the party or parties furnishing such headstone or concrete base or lettering or bronze memorial tablet.(k) In cases of dispute concerning the legal residence of a deceased service person, the county in which a deceased service person is buried shall perform the duties hereinbefore set forth. No such payment or payments shall be made unless the application therefor shall be approved, before the commencement of the project, by the county commissioners.(l) Any person who shall wilfully, maliciously or carelessly destroy, mutilate, remove or deface any grave marker or headstone placed or erected under the provisions of this section shall be guilty of the grade of offense in relation to the dollar amount of the theft or damage done in accordance with 18 Pa.C.S. § 3903 (relating to grading of theft offenses).1953, July 28, P.L. 723, art. XXI, § 2113. Amended 1957, July 8, P.L. 578, § 1; 1965, May 3, P.L. 27, § 1; 1975 , Oct. 7, P.L. 367, No. 102, § 1; 1988 , May 13, P.L. 395, No. 62, § 1, effective in 60 days; 1990, Oct. 5, P.L. 519, No. 125, § 5, effective in 60 days; 2008, June 11, P.L. 173, No. 23, §1, effective in 60 days [ 8/11/2008].