(a) Any last will of any person in the military or naval service of the United States, made outside this state, or at sea while in military or naval service, may be admitted to probate by the probate court of the county where the testator was domiciled, upon the certificate of the colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, or commanding officer of the regiment, or captain or commandant of the vessel, setting forth that the testator acknowledged, or that the subscribing witnesses proved, the will before that officer; but the heirs or next of kin of the testator may, in like manner and time prescribed for other contests, contest the validity of the will, in which case the authentication shall be prima facie evidence.

(b)

(1) The will of any person serving in the armed forces of the United States or any auxiliary thereto and executed while serving therein, may be admitted to probate upon proof satisfactory to the tribunal having jurisdiction over the probate of the genuineness of the signature of the maker of the will, where it first be shown that proof of due execution of the will may not be had of the subscribing witnesses to the will, if any, due to the inability to locate them, their death or the unavailability of their testimony for any reason adjudged sufficient by the tribunal having jurisdiction over the probate.

(2) However, no such will shall be admitted to probate where the will is offered for probate more than ten (10) years from the date of a declaration by the president of the United States or a resolution of congress declaring the end of hostilities during which the will was executed and in which the testator was a member of the armed forces, and nothing provided in this subsection (b) with reference to such wills shall void modes of probating wills made by members of the armed forces, but this subsection (b) shall, as to the wills of members of the armed forces made as provided in this section, afford an additional method of probate.