38 U.S.C. § 112

1. (a)At the request of the President the Secretary may conduct a program for honoring the memory of deceased persons eligible for burial in a national cemetery by reason of any of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of this title, by preparing and sending to eligible recipients a certificate bearing the signature of the President and expressing the country’s grateful recognition of the deceased individual’s service in the Armed Forces. The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient will not preclude authorization of another certificate if a request is received from some other eligible recipient.
2. (b)For the purpose of this section an “eligible recipient” means the next of kin, a relative or friend upon request, or an authorized service representative acting on behalf of such relative or friend.
3. (c)A certificate may not be furnished under the program under subsection (a) on behalf of a deceased person described in section 2411(b) of this title.