HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two bills to honor Korean War veterans and help the families of deceased veterans have been announced by state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin/Adams) who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee and worked closely with veterans organizations to guide both measures through the General Assembly.
Both measures are now signed into law.
Senate Bill 511, now Act 45 of 2026, permanently sets July 27 as Korean War Veterans Armistice Day in Pennsylvania in honor of all U.S. service members who fought on the Korean Peninsula from 1950-53. Nearly 1.8 million American soldiers served in the war. More than 36,000 lost their lives, and more than 100,000 were wounded.
“We owe it to those who fought and died on the Korean Peninsula to assure that their legacy is never forgotten,” Mastriano said. “Without the courage of American troops and our allies, South Korea’s fate could have mirrored that of North Korea — a dictatorship marked by oppression and suffering.”
Senate Bill 130, now Act 42 of 2026, would require licensed funeral directors, funeral parlors or cemetery companies to provide notification of a deceased service person to counties within 96 hours of receiving their remains. It would also require these entities to provide the family of the deceased service person with contact information for the county veterans affairs director.
“Our veterans earned their burial benefits by serving our nation,” Mastriano said. “Fostering communication between surviving family members, funeral directors and county directors of veterans affairs offices will help ensure more veterans receive a proper farewell.”
Both measures received strong bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
