The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act aims to address the misidentification of American-Jewish servicemembers buried overseas by establishing a Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program for ten years. The American Battle Monuments Commission will work to identify and contact surviving family members. Nonprofit organizations will be contracted to carry out this purpose, with a budget of $500,000 allocated annually. The Act reflects Congress's acknowledgment of the vital role played by American-Jewish servicemembers in World War I and World War II and the need to correct past mistakes in honor of these fallen servicemembers.
Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act
This bill requires the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program to identify deceased members of the Armed Forces who were Jewish and buried in a U.S. military cemetery located outside of the United States under a marker indicating the member was not Jewish. The program must contact survivors and descendants of such members.
The ABMC must seek to enter into a contract with a nonprofit organization to carry out the program during the first 10 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the bill.