Requires battlefield cross memorials in NJ include replicas of vertical rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags.

A4977

ASSEMBLY, No. 4977

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires battlefield cross memorials in NJ include
replicas of vertical rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning battlefield cross memorials in New
Jersey and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� a.� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� Historians have found that
battlefield crosses date back to the Civil War.� Each soldier who died in
battle was buried in temporary cemeteries near the battlefield, and their grave
was identified by a wooden plaque.

���� The configuration of the rifle
pointed downward with a helmet on the stock was commonly seen during World Wars
I and II, acting as a marker for the Graves Registration Service and as a
memorial.

���� Since the Gulf War in 1991,
the latest configuration for the battlefield cross, which includes a vertical
rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags, has become a symbol of honor and respect
for fallen soldiers as well as closure for the living.

���� It is fitting and proper that
New Jersey require battlefield crosses in the State to incorporate the latest
configuration as a way of continuing to honor and respect fallen soldiers.

���� b.� Each battlefield cross
memorial, including such memorials that have been erected prior to the
effective date of this act, P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), and that will be erected after the effective date of
this act, located in this State shall include replicas of a vertical rifle,
helmet, boots, and dog tags in their traditional memorial configuration.

���� c.�
The
Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any department or agency
of the State operating a historical battlefield, may apply for and accept on
behalf of the State any grants from the federal government or any agency
thereof, or from any foundation, corporation, association, or individual, and
may comply with the terms, conditions, and limitations thereof, to develop and
implement the replicas of a vertical rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags in
their traditional memorial configuration.� Any money so received shall be
appropriated to, and may be expended by, the department or agency, subject to
any limitations imposed in such grants, and in accordance with guidance from
the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the
Treasury.

���� 2.� This act shall take effect
90 days following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires that
battlefield cross memorials in New Jersey that are currently erected and that
will be erected in the future include replicas of a vertical rifle, a helmet,
boots, and dog tags in their traditional memorial configuration.� The bill also
permits the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any
department or agency of the State operating a historical battlefield, to apply
for and accept on behalf of the State any grants from the federal government or
any agency thereof, or from any foundation, corporation, association, or
individual, to develop and implement the replicas.

���� Historians have found that
battlefield crosses date back to the Civil War.� Soldiers who died in battle
were buried in temporary cemeteries near the battlefield, with their graves
being identified by wooden plaques.

���� The configuration of the rifle
pointed downward with a helmet on the stock was commonly seen during World Wars
I and II, acting as a marker for the Graves Registration Service and as a
memorial.

���� Since the Gulf War in 1991,
the latest configuration for the battlefield cross, which includes a vertical
rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags, has become a symbol of honor and respect
for fallen soldiers as well as closure for the living.

���� It is fitting and proper for
New Jersey to require battlefield crosses in the State to incorporate the
latest configuration as a way of continuing to honor and respect fallen
soldiers.