PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must approve a gold star lapel button to identify the next of kin of service members who died in certain situations. It covers those who died in World War I (April 6, 1917 to March 3, 1921) and World War II (September 8, 1939 to July 25, 1947 at 12:00 noon), and those who died later: after June 30, 1958 while fighting an enemy, during military operations against an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces in a conflict where the United States was not a belligerent; and after March 28, 1973 as the result of an international terrorist attack the Secretary of Defense recognizes, or while serving outside the United States (including commonwealths, territories, and possessions) as part of a peacekeeping force. Under rules the Secretary of Defense sets, the correct military department will give one gold star button free to each next of kin who applies. A person may get only one button, but if it is lost, destroyed, or becomes unusable through no fault of theirs, they can get a free replacement. The military departments will define who counts as "next of kin." "Military operations" includes U.S.-sponsored training of foreign forces, and "peacekeeping force" includes forces serving in U.N. Security Council–authorized peacekeeping.

Title 10, §1126

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A lapel button, to be known as the gold star lapel button, shall be designed, as approved by the Secretary of Defense, to identify next of kin of members of the armed forces—

(1)who lost their lives during World War I, World War II, or during any subsequent period of armed hostilities in which the United States was engaged before July 1, 1958;

(2)who lost or lose their lives after June 30, 1958—

(A)while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;

(B)while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or

(C)while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force; or

(3)who lost or lose their lives after March 28, 1973, as a result of—

(A)an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of Defense; or

(B)military operations while serving outside the United States (including the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States) as part of a peacekeeping force.

(b)Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary concerned, upon application to him, shall furnish one gold star lapel button without cost to each next of kin of a member who lost or loses his or her life under any circumstances prescribed in subsection (a).

(c)Not more than one gold star lapel button may be furnished to any one individual except that, when a gold star lapel button furnished under this section has been lost, destroyed, or rendered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part of the person to whom it was furnished, the button may be replaced upon application and without cost.

(d)In this section:

(1)The term “next of kin” means individuals standing in such relationship to members of the armed forces described in subsection (a) as the Secretaries concerned shall jointly specify in regulations for purposes of this section.

(2)The term “World War I” includes the period from April 6, 1917, to March 3, 1921.

(3)The term “World War II” includes the period from September 8, 1939, to July 25, 1947, at 12 o’clock noon.

(4)The term “military operations” includes those operations involving members of the armed forces assisting in United States Government sponsored training of military personnel of a foreign nation.

(5)The term “peacekeeping force” includes those personnel assigned to a force engaged in a peacekeeping operation authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in sections 1 to 3 of act Aug. 1, 1947, ch. 426, 61 Stat. 710, which were classified to sections 182a to 182c of former Title 36, Patriotic Societies and Observances, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–534, § 2, Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 345.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(1), struck out “widows, parents, and” after “identify” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(2), substituted “each” for “the widow and to each parent and”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(b), substituted “and without cost.” for “and payment of an amount sufficient to cover the cost of manufacture and distribution.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(3), added par. (1), redesignated pars. (5) to (8) as (2) to (5), respectively, and struck out former pars. (1), (2), (3), and (4) which defined “widow”, “parents”, “next of kin”, and “children”, respectively. 1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(a), struck out “of the United States” after “armed forces” in introductory provisions, redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) of par. (2) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and added par. (3). Subsec. (d)(7), (8). Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(b), added pars. (7) and (8). 1987—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–26 substituted colon for dash at end of introductory provisions, inserted “The term” in each par., and substituted periods for semicolons in pars. (1) to (4) and period for “; and” in par. (5). 1983—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–94 substituted “who” for “Who”.

§1126 Gold Star Lapel Button: Eligibility and Distribution