US Code
SUBCHAPTER II— DEATH BENEFITS
§ 1480. Death gratuity: miscellaneous provisions

(a) A payment may not be made under sections 1475–1477 of this title if the decedent was put to death as lawful punishment for a crime or a military offense, unless he was put to death by a hostile force with which the armed forces of the United States were engaged in armed conflict.
(b) A payment may not be made under section 1476 unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that the decedent was discharged or released, as the case may be, under conditions other than dishonorable from the last period of the duty or training that he performed.
(c) For the purposes of section 1475(a)(3) of this title, the Secretary concerned shall determine whether the decedent was authorized or required to perform the duty or training and whether or not he died from injury so incurred. For the purposes of section 1476 of this title, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make those determinations. In making those determinations, the Secretary concerned or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as the case may be, shall consider—(1) the hour on which the Reserve began to travel directly to or from the duty or training;
(2) the hour at which he was scheduled to arrive for, or at which he ceased performing, that duty or training;
(3) the method of travel used;
(4) the itinerary;
(5) the manner in which the travel was performed; and
(6) the immediate cause of death.
In cases covered by this subsection, the burden of proof is on the claimant.
(d) Payments under sections 1475–1477 of this title shall be made from appropriations available for the payment of members of the armed force concerned.

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