Death gratuity: death of members on active duty or inactive duty training and of certain other persons
10 U.S.C. § 1475
in effect(a) Except as provided in section 1480 of this title, the Secretary concerned shall have a death gratuity paid to or for the survivor prescribed by section 1477 of this title, immediately upon receiving official notification of the death of—(1) a member of an armed force under his jurisdiction who dies while on active duty or while performing authorized travel to or from active duty; (2) a Reserve of an armed force who dies while on inactive duty training (other than work or study in connection with a correspondence course of an armed force or attendance, in an inactive status, at an educational institution under the sponsorship of an armed force or the Public Health Service); (3) any Reserve of an armed force who, when authorized or required by an authority designated by the Secretary, assumed an obligation to perform active duty for training, or inactive duty training (other than work or study in connection with a correspondence course of an armed force or attendance, in an inactive status, at an educational institution, under the sponsorship of an armed force or the Public Health Service), and who dies while traveling directly to or from that active duty for training or inactive duty training or while staying at the Reserve’s residence, when so authorized by proper authority, during the period of such inactive duty training or between successive days of inactive duty training; (4) any member of a reserve officers’ training corps who dies while performing annual training duty under orders, or while performing authorized travel to or from that annual training duty; or any applicant for membership in a reserve officers’ training corps who dies while attending field training or a practice cruise under section 2104(b)(6)(B) of this title or while performing authorized travel to or from the place where the training or cruise is conducted; or a graduate of a reserve officers’ training corps who has received a commission but has yet to receive a first duty assignment; or (5) a person who dies while traveling to or from or while at a place for final acceptance, or for entry upon active duty (other than for training), in an armed force, who has been ordered or directed to go to that place, and who—(A) has been provisionally accepted for that duty; or (B) has been selected, under the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), for service in that armed force.
(b) This section does not apply to the survivors of persons who were temporary members of the Coast Guard Reserve at the time of their death.
Source: OLRC USLMURL: https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/95/xml_usc10@119-95.zipFetched: 6/3/2026