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Military Death Payments Trouble Families

$500,000 windfalls for next of kin can cause confusion, discord

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 22, 2008 8:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – The military pays $500,000 to the next of kin of every soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, but the sudden injection of cash during a time of grief often throws survivors off balance. Young military spouses can struggle with money management and long-lost friends and relatives sometimes appear asking for handouts. Some military kin have quickly ended up destitute.

Many who have lost loved ones feel deeply offended when the government money first arrives. “My casualty assistance officer handed me the check and I wanted to tear it up and throw it right back at him,” a Navy widow told the New York Times. “It was almost like accepting the money meant truly acknowledging that the death had happened.”

[Images (3)]

[Videos (3)]

An officer gives a ceremonial flag to Nitza Damaris Martnez, the widow of U.S. Army soldier Jason Nunez, during his funeral,at the military cemetery in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, April 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

An Army honor guards carries the casket of Army Spc. Luke Runyan during a funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An Army honor guard carries the casket of Army Staff Sgt. Eric T. Duckworth during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Military Death Payments Trouble Families