Any person who has served on active duty in the medical corps of any of the Armed Forces of the United States and who has successfully completed the course of instruction required to qualify him for rating as a medical specialist advanced, medical service technician, advanced hospital corpsman technician, medical corpsman, medical service specialist or class A hospital corpsman, or other equivalent rating in his particular branch of the Armed Forces, and whose service in the Armed Forces was under honorable conditions, may submit to the West Virginia state board of examiners for licensed practical nurses, a photostatic copy of the certificate issued to him certifying successful completion of such course of instruction, a photostatic copy of his discharge from the Armed Forces, an application for license as a licensed practical nurse and the prescribed fee.

If the certificate and discharge, as evidenced by the photostatic copies thereof, the application and prescribed fee are in order, and if the veteran meets all of the requirements of article seven-a of this chapter, except the requirements therein specified requiring an applicant to have completed a course of study in an accredited school for practical nurses as defined by such board, to hold a diploma therefrom and to have completed such other general educational requirements as may be prescribed by such board, the veteran shall be permitted, notwithstanding any provision of said article seven-a to the contrary, to take the same examination or examinations as are required under section six of said article seven-a for applicants who do not apply for a license under the provisions of this article twenty- four. If the veteran passes such examination or examinations, he shall be licensed as a licensed practical nurse, and such veteran shall thereafter be subject to all of the provisions of said article seven-a. If the veteran does not pass such examination or examinations, the provisions of said article seven-a relating to reexaminations (by cross reference to section six, article one of this chapter) shall apply to such veteran the same as they apply to a person who does not apply for a license under the provisions of this article twenty-four.