Request for Expenses

An advance decision was requested concerning whether a widow of a member of the Army may be reimbursed for the expenses of having her brother travel from the United States to Germany to aid her upon the death of her husband, and whether she may be reimbursed her travel expenses upon the disinterment and reburial of her husband. Upon being informed that her husband had been killed on active duty, the widow called her brother to come to her assistance. While the brother was en route to Germany, the Army informed the widow that a military escort would accompany her and her husband's body to the United States. The brother accompanied the widow and her military escort when they left Germany by commercial airliner for the United States. After the burial had taken place, the widow found out that she could have supplied a marker for her husband's grave, rather than use a Government supplied marker. She requested that her husband's remains be disinterred and reinterred in a section of the military cemetary where private markers were allowed. The widow then sought reimbursement of her brother's round-trip travel expenses from the United States to Germany and reimbursement of her travel expenses between New Jersey and Washington, D.C., to attend the reburial. Because the widow's brother had not been officially assigned as her escort, payment for his travel expenses were not allowed. No basis could be found for reimbursing the widow's travel expenses incurred incident to the reburial of her husband. Accordingly, the transportation expense claims were denied.