riage is to be solemnized and provided all parties concerned have complied with the requirements of the denomination the chaplain represents and with any directives which may have been issued by the military command or higher headquarters. The scope of the chaplains' work will include such ministrations as are held by some denominations or religious bodies as sacraments and by others as rites or ordinances. Chaplains will administer or arrange for rites and sacraments for military personnel and civilians under military jurisdiction according to the respective beliefs and conscientious practices of all concerned.

1125: 10 V. S. C. 238) [16 F. R. 12931, Deo. 27, 1951)

Part 511-Assistance to Relatives and Others in Connection With Deceased Personnel

htík

atll Nottdeation to emergency addressee In case of death; responsibility. 5112 Sympathy letters. atta Quiapondence.

alta toota of ofvitan employees not subJect to military law.

APOKONTLY: #8511.1 to 511.5 issued under 1a tot, a U. a. Q. 99,

#attt Notification to emergency ad#retwee* * \e of death; responsibility. Notification to emergency addressee in A case occuring within the 48 States of the United States or the District of Columbia is the responsibility of the installation commander. Notification to emergency addressee in a case occuring outside the 48 States of the United States or the District of Columbia normally is made by The Adjutant General; however, when the emergency addressee resides within the reporting command, or, If in a non-combat area, is more accessible to the reporting command than to The Adjutant General, the oversea commander will arrange for notification in the name of the Secretary of the Army. The Adjutant General also will effect notification in any case within the United States where emergency addressee is outside the United States. 116 F. R. 11430, Nov. 9, 1951]

$ 511.2 Sympathy letters. The installation commander or oversea commander reporting a death to The Adjutant General will insure that a

letter of sympathy is written and forwarded to the emergency addressee designated by the individual and other individuals notified or to be notified. For a reservist participating in Reserve duty training, the chief of the military district will be responsible for the letters. The letters may be prepared and signed by the chaplain serving the organization or installation. In any event, the letters will be prepared and dispatched by the responsible officer, not later than 24 hours after the initial notification (or report to The Adjutant General, if initial notification is to be made by The Adjutant General).

[16 F. R. 11430, Nov. 9, 1951]

Re

§ 511.3 Correspondence. (a) quests for information on circumstances (these details normally are furnished in a sympathy or supplementary letter) from member of Congress, representatives of veterans' organizations, clergymen, attorneys, or prominent officials acting in the interest of a person clearly entitled to receive such information, will be acknowledged, inclosing a copy of the latest communication to the person being represented. The acknowledgment will include a statement that the same information has been (or is being) furnished direct to the person being represented. If the information previously has not been furnished to the person being represented, a simultaneous communication to that person (with copy to the requesting individual) will describe the circumstances normally furnished; line of duty and misconduct status of a military person will be included if not previously furnished and if determined without investigation or by investigation upon which the Department of the Army has taken final action. Inquiries from sources not clearly acting in the interest of a person authorized to receive information concerning the death will be acknowledged by a courteous reply to the effect that details have been (or are being) furnished direct to the authorized recipient.

(b) No information concerning identity of deceased personnel will be released to the public or press except through prescribed public information channels, and then only after the prescribed delay to permit notification of authorized persons, or until it is known that designated emergency addressee has been notified. No statement as to line of duty or misconduct will be made

to the press at any time, nor to any individual other than as authorized in paragraph (a) of this section or elsewhere in special regulations. Any individual in the military service, or employed with the Army, having knowledge of the details of a death, other than the chaplain or other individual designated for that purpose by the installation commander, or other responsible officer, will not notify or communicate with next of kin or emergency addressees, on the details of the death, until the expiration of a period of 45 days from the date of death; any such persons having such information will not communicate with persons other than the next of kin or emergency addressees on the details of death, until the expiration of a period of 60 days from the date of death.

(c) Inquiries from a person purporting to be the beneficiary of a military person who is deceased, or for whom the Department of the Army has issued a finding of death under the Missing Persons Act, will be answered to the effect that gratuities under §§ 533.1-533.3, 533.5, and 533.8 of this chapter are paid by the proper disbursing officer as soon as eligibility therefor can be determined by the Finance Officer, Military Pay Division, Army Finance Center, Building 204, St. Louis 20, Missouri, or by the finance officer designated by the Chief of Finance, U. S. Army; that if found eligible, information relative to payment may be expected from the disbursing officer as early as practicable, and that no action on the part of the beneficiary to secure payment is necessary. (Vouchers will not be furnished to a beneficiary by anyone other than the Finance Officer, Military Pay Division, Army Finance Center, except that in an oversea command a voucher may be furnished by the disbursing officer authorized to make payment of the gratuity.)

(d) Inquiries pertaining to arrears of pay due deceased military personnel who died while on active duty will be answered to the effect that claims are processed through the Military Pay Division, Army Finance Center, Building 204, St. Louis 20, Missouri; that immediately upon receipt of an official report of death, the finance officer will forward WD FD Form 14 (Claim for Amounts Due Deceased Personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States) to the proper person, and that the form will be accompanied by instructions for its com

pletion and disposition; that the completed form should be returned by the claimant to the Finance Officer, Military Pay Division, Army Finance Center, in accordance with instructions furnished, in order that the finance officer then may process the claim to the General Accounting Office, Claims Division, Washington 25, D. C., the latter office having jurisdiction in the settlement of such accounts.

(e) Inquiries pertaining to arrears of pay due deceased retired military personnel not on active duty at time of death will be answered to the effect that claims will be processed direct to the Claims Division, General Accounting Office, Washington 25, D. C., by the claimant.

[16 F. R. 11430, Nov. 9, 1951]

§ 511.4 Effects-(a) General. This section prescribes the manner of disposing of the effects of persons who are deceased or missing outside theaters of operations. A deceased or missing person referred to in this section is one who is subject to military law at the time of his death or was reported as missing under the provisions of the Missing Persons Act of March 7, 1942 (56 Stat. 143), as amended by the act of December 24, 1942 (56 Stat. 1003), and the act of July 1, 1944 (58 Stat. 679; 50 U. S. C., App. 1001, et seq.).

(b) Inventory. WD AGO Form 54 (Inventory of Effects) will be prepared in the case of every deceased or missing person whose effects are under control of the military authorities.

(c) Funds, commercial papers, stocks, bonds, etc. (1) Moneys found on personal effects, received from debtors or from sale of effects, will be transmitted to the legal next of kin. When next of kin is not present, such moneys will be forwarded to them by mail, either by United States postal money order or United States Treasury check, and duly recorded on Form 54. When moneys found are less than $5, such money will be included with the effects.

(2) Government funds entrusted to personnel as agents or finance officers are not effects. If it appears that funds found on the deceased may be Government funds, all funds found on the deceased will be turned over to the disbursing officer to be deposited in special deposits until determination can be made

as to the amounts belonging to the Government and to the individual.

ac

(3) Commercial papers, bank counts, stocks, bonds, or negotiable instruments (which include traveler's checks, money orders, etc.) will not be converted into cash but will be forwarded to the next of kin, legal representative, or The Adjutant General, Department of the Army, Washington 25, D. C.

(4) Military payment orders found among the effects of personnel who are deceased, missing, missing in action, or which are otherwise undeliverable, will be forwarded to the Chief of Finance, Department of the Army, Washington 25, D. C., Attn: Receipts and Disbursements Division. Letter of transmittal will furnish information showing the source from which the military payment order was received, the status of the payee, and such other information as may be available regarding the issuance and ownership of same. If the payee is deceased, the name and address of the next of kin also will be furnished. Claimants for the proceeds of such military payment orders will be referred to the Chief of Finance, Washington 25, D. C., Attn: Receipts and Disbursements Division.

(d) Clothing and equipment. All organizational clothing and equipment and all other Government property to which the individual is not entitled will be withdrawn from the effects and turned over to the appropriate supply officer. Credit entries for the items withdrawn will be made on the records of the individual. Personal clothing to which title vests in the individual will not be withdrawn from the effects of the decedent, except to the extent necessary to provide clothing for burial. If the clothing of the deceased is soiled but otherwise suitable for burial purposes, it will be cleaned and pressed at Government expense before use.

(e) Shipment. (1) The effects of missing persons will be held 120 days or longer before they are shipped or delivered to the next of kin.

(2) Each package, box, or crate containing effects will be marked plainly "Effects deceased person" and will bear the full name, grade, service number, and organization of the person to whom the effects belonged. The contents of a package or packages will be verified against the inventory by the commanding officer or other person making the

shipment, and the package or packages will be sealed by the person verifying the contents. A certificate as to such verification and sealing will be included in the package (or package No. 1).

(3) Upon delivery or shipment of effects a communication will be delivered or mailed to the person receiving the effects, conveying the information that delivery or shipment of the property does not in any way vest title in the recipient, but that the property is delivered or forwarded for retention or disposition as custodian in accordance with the laws of the State of the decedent's or missing person's legal residence. In case of shipment, the communication will state the date and method of shipment, and anticipated date of arrival.

(f) Next of kin or legal representative present. (1) If the next of kin or legal representative is present, the immediate commanding officer of the deceased or missing person will inventory the effects on WD AGO Form 54 (Inventory of Effects), prepared in triplicate, deliver the effects in person, receiving a receipt therefor, or arrange for packing and shipment at Government expense, if requested, and will forward the original and duplicate of the inventory, with the full name and address of the person receiving the effects, to the commanding officer having custody of the individual's records. The commanding officer will indicate his approval of the disposition by signing Form 54 and will forward the original to The Adjutant General with the indivdual records of the deceased or missing person.

(2) If death occurs or a person is reported as missing in a Territory or possession of the United States, or in another country, and the person entitled to receive the effects is a resident of that Territory, possession, or country, the commanding officer may deliver the personal effects of the individual to the proper person in the same manner as outlined in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, receiving in return a receipt therefor. If personal delivery or direct transmission is not practicable, the person entitled to receive the effects may be requested to designate by written notice, in triplicate, a consular representative, or other such person, at or near the place where the effects are located. The consular representative will act as an agent for the acceptance of the effects of the deceased or missing person,

and will be required to receipt for the effects on all three copies of Form 54, or to execute a separate receipt, in triplicate. A copy of the authorization, and separate receipt, if taken, will be attached to each copy of Form 54 for disposition in accordance with subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. Currency among effects of the deceased or missing person, in this case, should be turned over to the nearest disbursing officer for issuance of a United States dollar or foreign currency check, as appropriate. If the person entitled to receive the effects fails or declines to designate a consular representative for this purpose, the effects will be given to the custody of a summary court for disposition.

(g) Next of kin or legal representative not present―(1) Legal representative or next of kin known but not present. (i) The inventory of effects will be prepared in quadruplicate by the immediate commanding officer, and the original and two copies will be delivered with the effects to the summary court appointed to dispose of the effects. If it appears to the interest of both the eventual owner and the Government that certain effects which meet the general discription contained in subdivision (iii) of this subparagraph be sold, particularly when the effects are located overseas, the summary court, if the commanding officer approves, will so advise the next of kin or legal representative and ask for a power of attorney to dispose of the effects concerned. Sale, if authorized, may be by public or private sale. A certified copy of the bill of sale will be prepared for the next of kin or legal representative. In addition, the summary court will collect all local debts due the decedent and will pay undisputed local creditors, taking a receipt for such payments to be attached to the inventory. A complete record of all sales and other cash transactions will be entered on the Form 54. The summary court will forward the effects and cash from any transactions at Government expense, with original and duplicate of the inventory, with certified bills of sale, to the person eligible to receive the effects, with the request that both copies of the inventory be signed and returned to the summary court. Upon return of both signed copies of the inventory, the summary court will forward both copies to the commanding officer who had custody of the individual's records. The commanding officer will indicate his approval by signing both

copies of the inventory and forwarding the original to The Adjutant General.

(ii) Foreign currencies found among the effects will be considered souvenir moneys, and will be shipped with the effects. Negotiable instruments (including traveler's checks, money orders, etc.) payable to the deceased, or missing person, except checks drawn on the Treasury of the United States, or on foreign depositories, will be transmitted with other effects; however, negotiable instruments made payable to the deceased in settlement of a debt due to deceased by local debtors may be indorsed by the summary court for collection, and the proceeds will be disposed of in the same manner as cash found among the effects. Checks drawn on the Treasurer of the United States, or on foreign depositories, I will be transmitted to the issuing disbursing officer or his successor in office for appropriate action (transmittal to the General Accounting Office). Proper notation will be made on Form 54 concerning these checks so that claim may be made for them by the next of kin. (iii) Items which may be considered for sale are these:

(a) Which may not be shipped under existing regulations or policies established by the (oversea) commander.

(b) Which because of their bulk, nature, or weight cannot be included with other effects to be shipped.

(c) Obviously of no sentimental value, which are not of a value commensurate to the cost of shipment, and which may be sold in the oversea command for as much or more than in the United States (Such as vehicles, heavy furniture, etc...

(d) Which if sold in the oversea command, would serve the best interest of the eventual owner concerned (such as items of electrical equipment which would not be of any value in the United States because of odd voltage).

(2) Legal representative or next of kin not known. The inventory of effects will be prepared in sextuplicate by the immediate commanding officer, and the original and 4 copies will be delivered with the effects to the summary court appointed to dispose of the effects. The summary court will verify the inventory and receipt therefor on the last copy which will be returned to the organization commander. After collecting from debtors and paying creditors of the individual, the summary court will sell all

effects except those articles defined in the Manual for Courts-Martial as valuable chiefly as keepsakes, and stocks, bonds, evidence of bank accounts, or other forms of purely commercial paper, and will pay any bona fide creditors of the deceased. Cash or check received from sale of effects will be transmitted to the local disbursing officer, with the original and four copies of the inventory of effects. The original and two copies of the inventory will be forwarded by the summary court to the commanding officer who had custody of the individual's records. Insignia, decorations, medals, and other articles valuable chiefly as keepsakes, and all purely commercial papers, such as stocks, bonds, evidence of bank accounts, etc., will be forwarded to The Adjutant General, Department of the Army, Washington 25, D. C., ATTN: AGAO, for transmission to the Soldier's Home under the provisions of the act of February 21, 1931 (46 Stat. 1203 as amended; 10 U. S. C. 1584a). The commanding officer will indicate his approval by signing the inventory and forwarding the original and duplicate to The Adjutant General with any effects being forwarded to the Department of the Army for further disposition.

(h) Personnel deceased or reported missing on board transport, next of kin or legal representative not aboard. (1) If the next of kin or legal representative is not aboard the transport, available effects will be inventoried, in original and six copies, and will be delivered to the transportation agent for safekeeping and delivery to the port transportation officer at the port of debarkation for disposition. A summary court will be appointed by the commander of Army troops to collect any funds due from debtors and to accept claims of creditors. The summary court will prepare a separate report, in original and six copies, of his transactions and will file his report and deposit any funds collected with the transportation agent. A copy of the report of the summary court's transactions will be filed in the personnel records of the deceased or missing person.

(2) When part of the effects are stored in the hold of the transport, or when it is impracticable for any reason to secure all effects immediately upon learning that the owner is dead or missing, the commander of Army troops will secure the additional effects as soon as

practicable after arrival of the transport at the port of debarkation. The additional effects will be inventoried in original and six copies on a separate Form 54, and will be delivered with the inventory to the transportation agent or port transportation officer having custody of the remainder of the effects. A copy of the inventory will be filed in the personnel records of the individual.

(3) In turning over effects to the port transportation officer, the transportation agent will obtain a receipt on a copy of the inventory, and report of cash transactions, if attached, and will file the receipt or receipts with the records of the transport. If additional effects are inventories in accordance with subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, a receipt for such additional effects similarly should be obtained by the transportation agent, or commander of Army troops, as appropriate, and the receipt should be filed with the records of the transport.

(4) The port transportation officer receiving the effects of a deceased or missing person will request the appointment of a summary court to dispose of the effects. The original and four copies of the inventory or inventories, and record of cash transactions, if any, will be delivered with the effects to the summary court for disposition in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (g) of this section. If the legal representative or next of kin is known, the two extra copies of the inventory will be destroyed. [16 F. R. 7278, July 25, 1951]

§ 511.5 Effects of civilian employees not subject to military law. The provisions of § 511.4 do not apply in the case of deceased civilians with the Army who are not subject to military law. In such cases the officer under whom the decedent was serving, or such representative of the service in which the decedent was employed as said officer may designate, will secure the decedent's effects and deliver them to the legal heirs or their representatives. If the deceased was not an employee of the Department of the Army, the commander of the installation where death occurred, or an officer designated by him, will secure the decedent's effects and deliver them to legal heirs or their representatives. If the effects are not claimed within a reasonable period of time, the responsible officer will deliver the effects, with all available useful information concerning the decedent, to