§ 215. Retirement of and pensions for certain veterans. 1. Any soldier, sailor or marine of the army or navy of the United States in the civil war, Spanish-American war, or world war I, honorably discharged from service, and any member of the organized militia of the state having performed active service as such with his organization in aid of federal or civil authorities, for a period of not less than ten consecutive days, who shall have been employed for a period of twenty years or more in the military or naval service of the state of New York under pay from funds raised as provided for in this chapter for the pay of such employees, may, upon reaching the age of sixty-four years upon his own request and the approval of the adjutant general, or shall, upon being discharged or released from such employment without fault on his part after reaching the age of fifty years after serving as aforesaid, or upon being incapacitated from performing the duties of his position after twenty years of such service, be retired from such employment with the approval of the adjutant general, and thereafter during his life there shall be paid to him, in the same manner and by the same agency and from the same source that the compensation of his former position was customarily paid to him, an annual sum equal in amount to one-half of the compensation paid to him in the last year of his employment.

2. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of any person who, on or after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-four, enters or re-enters military or naval service of the state under pay from funds raised as provided for in this chapter. For the purposes of this subdivision, a person who entered or re-entered such service before such date shall be deemed to continue therein during the time he performs military duty under a leave of absence therefor pursuant to section two hundred forty-two or section two hundred forty-three of this chapter.