Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act

The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act would require the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to create and run a program—the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program—to identify American-Jewish service members buried in United States military cemeteries overseas who are currently marked with markers that incorrectly indicate their religion (i.e., Jewish servicemembers buried under non-Jewish markers, such as Latin Crosses). The bill directs ABMC to contact survivors and descendants of these “covered members” to address misrepresentations of their heritage and to ensure proper recognition. The program would run for the first 10 fiscal years after enactment, funded through annual contracts with a nonprofit organization and supported by annual appropriations of $500,000 per year. The bill defines “covered member” as a deceased Jewish service member buried in a foreign-based U.S. military cemetery under a marker indicating they were not Jewish, and “nonprofit organization” as a 501(c)(3) organization. The bill is grounded in findings that an estimated 900 American-Jewish servicemembers were buried under non-Jewish markers due to mistakes, many of which were inadvertent, and that proper recognition is a solemn government responsibility. By enabling identification and outreach to families and descendants, the act seeks to correct past errors and ensure these servicemembers’ heritage is properly honored.