Section 364. Persons who may receive annuity

1. a. The word "veteran," as
  used in this article shall be taken to mean and include any  person  who
  is a resident of the state of New York, and who has been or may be given
  an honorable, general or ordinary discharge or any other form of release
  from  such  service,  except  a  dishonorable  discharge,  a bad conduct
  discharge, an undesirable discharge, a  discharge  without  honor  or  a
  discharge  for  the  good of the service, and who (i) was a recipient of
  the armed forces expeditionary medal, the navy  expeditionary  medal  or
  the  marine corps expeditionary medal for participation in operations in
  Lebanon from June  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-three  to  December
  first,   nineteen   hundred   eighty-seven,   in  Grenada  from  October
  twenty-third, nineteen hundred eighty-three  to  November  twenty-first,
  nineteen  hundred  eighty-three,  or  in Panama from December twentieth,
  nineteen hundred eighty-nine to January thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred
  ninety,  or  (ii)  served  on active duty for ninety days or more in the
  armed forces of the United States during any one of the  following  wars
  or hostilities:
    (1)  in  the  Spanish-American war from the twenty-first day of April,
  eighteen hundred ninety-eight to the eleventh  day  of  April,  eighteen
  hundred ninety-nine, inclusive;
    (2) in the Philippine insurrection or the China relief expedition from
  the  eleventh  day  of April, eighteen hundred ninety-nine to the fourth
  day of July, nineteen hundred two, inclusive;
    (3) in the Mexican border campaign from the ninth day of May, nineteen
  hundred sixteen, to the fifth day of April, nineteen hundred  seventeen,
  inclusive;
    (4)  in  world  war  I  from  the sixth day of April, nineteen hundred
  seventeen to the eleventh day of November,  nineteen  hundred  eighteen,
  inclusive;
    (5) in world war II from the seventh day of December, nineteen hundred
  forty-one   to  the  thirty-first  day  of  December,  nineteen  hundred
  forty-six,  inclusive,  or  who  was  employed  by  the   War   Shipping
  Administration  or Office of Defense Transportation or their agents as a
  merchant  seaman  documented  by  the  United  States  Coast  Guard   or
  Department  of  Commerce,  or  as a civil servant employed by the United
  States Army Transport Service (later redesignated as the  United  States
  Army  Transportation  Corps, Water Division) or the Naval Transportation
  Service; and who served satisfactorily  as  a  crew  member  during  the
  period  of armed conflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-one,
  to  August  fifteenth,  nineteen  hundred  forty-five,  aboard  merchant
  vessels in oceangoing, i.e., foreign, intercoastal, or coastwise service
  as  such terms are defined under federal law (46 USCA 10301&10501) and
  further to include "near foreign" voyages between the United States  and
  Canada,  Mexico,  or the West Indies via ocean routes, or public vessels
  in  oceangoing  service  or  foreign  waters  and  who  has  received  a
  Certificate  of  Release  or  Discharge from Active Duty and a discharge
  certificate, or an Honorable  Service  Certificate/Report  of  Casualty,
  from  the  Department  of  Defense,  or  who  served  as a United States
  civilian employed by the American  Field  Service  and  served  overseas
  under United States Armies and United States Army Groups in world war II
  during  the period of armed conflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred
  forty-one through May eighth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and  who  was
  discharged  or  released  therefrom  under  honorable conditions, or who
  served as a United States  civilian  Flight  Crew  and  Aviation  Ground
  Support   Employee   of  Pan  American  World  Airways  or  one  of  its
  subsidiaries or its affiliates and served overseas as a  result  of  Pan
  American's  contract  with  Air Transport Command or Naval Air Transport
  Service during  the  period  of  armed  conflict,  December  fourteenth,

  nineteen  hundred  forty-one through August fourteenth, nineteen hundred
  forty-five, and who was discharged or released therefrom under honorable
  conditions;
    (6)  in  the  Korean  hostilities from the twenty-seventh day of June,
  nineteen hundred fifty to the  thirty-first  day  of  January,  nineteen
  hundred fifty-five, inclusive;
    (7)  in  the  Vietnam conflict from the twenty-eighth day of February,
  nineteen hundred sixty-one to the seventh day of May,  nineteen  hundred
  seventy-five;
    (8)  in  the  Persian  Gulf  conflict  from  the second day of August,
  nineteen hundred ninety to the end of such conflict.
    b. The word "veteran" shall also mean any person who meets  the  other
  requirements  of  paragraph  a of this subdivision, who served on active
  duty for less than ninety days, if he or she was discharged or  released
  from such service for a service-connected disability or who served for a
  period of ninety consecutive days or more and such period began or ended
  during  any  war  or  period of hostilities as defined in paragraph a of
  this subdivision.
    c. The term "active duty" as used in this article shall mean full time
  duty in the armed forces, other than active duty for training; provided,
  however, that "active duty" shall also include any period of active duty
  for training during which the individual concerned was disabled or  died
  from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during such period.
    2.  No annuity shall be paid under this article to or for a person who
  is in prison in a federal, state or local penal institution as a  result
  of  conviction  of  a  felony  or misdemeanor for any part of the period
  beginning sixty-one days after his or her imprisonment begins and ending
  when his or her imprisonment ends.
    3. Where any veteran is disqualified for the annuity  for  any  period
  solely  by  reason of the provisions of subdivision two of this section,
  the director of veterans' affairs shall pay to his  wife,  if  any,  the
  annuity  which  such  veteran would receive for that period but for said
  subdivision two.
    4. In case an unmarried, divorced or widowed veteran or a widow  of  a
  deceased  annuitant is being furnished hospital treatment, institutional
  or domiciliary care by the United  States  or  the  state,  the  annuity
  payable  under this article to such veteran or widow may be discontinued
  after the first day of the seventh calendar month following the month of
  admission of such veteran or widow for treatment  or  care.  Payment  of
  such  annuity  shall  be  resumed if such veteran or widow is discharged
  from the hospital, institution or home, or if his or  her  treatment  or
  care therein is otherwise terminated.
    5.  Where  payment  of the annuity as hereinbefore authorized is to be
  made to a mentally incompetent person or a conservatee, such payment may
  be authorized by the director of veterans' affairs of the  state  to  be
  paid  only to a duly qualified court-appointed committee or conservator,
  legally vested with the care of such incompetent's person or property or
  of  such  conservatee's  property,  except  that  in  the  case  of   an
  incompetent  annuitant  for whom a committee has not been appointed or a
  person  under  a  substantial  impairment  within  the  meaning  of  the
  conservatorship  provisions  of  article  seventy-seven  of  the  mental
  hygiene law for whom a conservator has not been  appointed  and  who  is
  hospitalized  in a United States veterans' administration hospital or in
  a hospital under the jurisdiction of the state of New York, the director
  of veterans' affairs of the state may in his discretion certify  payment
  of  the  annuity,  as  hereinbefore  authorized,  to the manager of such
  veterans' administration hospital or  to  the  director  of  such  state

  hospital  for  the  account  of  the  said  incompetent or substantially
  impaired annuitant.