Bill Text: NJ A4977 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires battlefield cross memorials in NJ include replicas of vertical rifle, helmet, boots, and dog tags.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee [A4977 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4977-Introduced.html
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.
