Last week, my brother returned home to his family after his most recent deployment. He is active duty in the U.S. Navy and I know that we are lucky that, for the last twenty years or so, he has come back every time he has shipped out.
The family of 19-year-old U.S. Army soldier Adrian M. Perkins was not so lucky. He died last week in Jordan.
The week before that, 49-year-old U.S. Army Commander Sergeant Major Martin R. Barreras was killed in the Herat Province (bordering Iran and Turkmenistan).
Just two days earlier, 33-year-old U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Deric M. Rasmussen lost his life in Mazar E Sharif, Afghanistan.
To date in 2014, despite the fact that we are not involved in any active wars, 20 military men and women have died in service to their country.
In 2013, we lost 120.
All total, approximately 1.3 million U.S. servicemen and women have lost their lives in wars and conflicts around the world; nearly half of those who died did so in the Civil War. Post Civil War, the largest numbers of military deaths are attributable to World War II (405,399) and World War I (116,516). More recently, over 8,000 servicemen and women have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over the years, we’ve struggled with how to honor and compensate those who gave everything to serve our country. Perhaps, most difficult has been sorting out benefits for those who are left behind. Here’s a quick summary of some of what benefits, many of them federal income tax-free, might be available to families who have lost loved ones:
- Burial Benefits. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Cemetery Administration maintains 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico as well as 33 soldier’s lots and monument sites. Burial benefits include a gravesite in any of those cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a Government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, at no cost to the family: the VA can help arrange honors for burials at VA national cemeteries. In addition, the VA will pay a burial allowance or reimbursement of up to $2,000 if a death is service-connected (downloads as a pdf).
- Military Funeral Honors. Upon request, the Department of Defense will provide military funeral honors consisting of folding and the presenting of the United States flag and the playing of “Taps.” A funeral honors detail consists of two or more uniformed members of the armed forces, with at least one member from the deceased’s branch of service. Family members should inform their funeral director if they want military funeral honors. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until January 1, 2000, that Public Law 106-65 was signed into law by President Clinton, making it mandatory for the United States Armed Forces to provide the rendering of honors in a military funeral for any eligible veteran if requested by the family.
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). DIC is a benefit payable to eligible survivors of military servicemen and women who die in the line of duty or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease. It’s tax-free when paid to the surviving spouse, child, or parent of those servicemen and women who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, or to survivors of Veterans who died from their service-connected disabilities.
- Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). Parents’ DIC Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is an income-based monthly benefit payable to the parent(s) of military servicemen and women who died in the line of duty or veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease. Like DIC, Parents’ DIC is tax-free.
- Survivors Pension. The Survivors Pension benefit, sometimes called a Death Pension, is a benefit payable to a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse and/or unmarried child or children of a deceased Veteran with wartime service. The pension is based on annual family income, which must be less than an amount set by Congress. Like DIC, it is tax-free.
- Death Gratuity. A death gratuity is a one-time payment to surviving family members deal following the loss of a serviceman or woman. The gratuity, which now stands at $100,000, is tax-free and is generally available to families whose loved ones died in active duty or those who meet other criteria.
- Survivors and Dependent Educational Assistance (DEA). The DEA program offers education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of those who died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition. These benefits can be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on-the-job training. And remember, unlike some other education plans, payments you receive for education, training, or subsistence under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are tax-free.
- Basic Allowance for Housing. If a service member was eligible for BAH at his or her death, his or her spouse and dependents are entitled to either remain in government housing for a year or to relocate to private quarters and receive a one year of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) or Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA). In most cases, BAH is tax-free.
More benefits, such as continued health care, may be available depending on your circumstances and your elections under a Survivor Benefits Plan.
Of course, all of the tax-free benefits in the world can’t bring back your loved ones. I am grateful that my brother keeps coming home (that’s him in the picture, together with his wife) – and that my older brother, who is now retired from active duty always came home, too.
If you see an active duty service member today (or a vet), I hope you’ll take a moment to say thank you. I know that Memorial Day is really about honoring those who have died in service of their country but it’s also a nice time to pause and give thanks for those who, despite understanding that they could be one of those statistics, get up and go to work every day, putting themselves at risk to protect all of us.
So a quick public thanks from me to my brothers, my uncles, my cousins, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and my father-in-law (USN, recently deceased) – I am so very proud to have known all of you and am so grateful for your service. Non sibi sed patriae.