10 U.S.C. § 1489
Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
- (a)The Secretary of Defense may pay a gratuity to the surviving dependents of any member of the armed forces or of any employee of the Department of Defense—
- (b)Any payment under subsection (a)—
- (1)shall be in an amount equal to the amount of the annual basic pay or salary of the member or employee concerned at the time of death;
- (2)shall be considered a gift and shall be in lieu of payment of any lesser death gratuity authorized by this chapter or any other Federal law; and
- (3)shall be made under the same conditions as apply to payments authorized by section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973).