As used in this section and in sections 6B and 6C, the word ""veteran'' shall mean a person who has performed wartime service as defined in Clause Forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4 or any person who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States for a period of at least 180 days and whose last discharge or release from the armed forces of the United States was under other than dishonorable conditions and who is a resident of the commonwealth.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 115, § 6A