"Dependent" means any child born before, during or after the period of time the child's parent was a prisoner of war or a person missing in action, or any child legally adopted or in the legal custody of the parent prior to, during or after the time the parent was a prisoner of war or a person missing in action.
"Prisoner of war" and "person missing in action" means any person who was a resident of this State at the time he or she entered service of the United States Armed Forces, or whose official residence is within this State, and who, while serving in said United States Armed Forces, has been declared to be a prisoner of war, or to be a person missing in action as established by the Secretary of Defense after January 1, 1960.
N.J.S. § 38A:3-23