§ 553.44 - Eligibility for interment and inurnment in the West Point Post Cemetery.

§ 553.44 Eligibility for interment and inurnment in the West Point Post Cemetery.

The following persons are eligible for interment and inurnment in the West Point Post Cemetery, unless otherwise prohibited as provided for in §§ 553.46 through 553.48, provided that the last period of active duty of the service member or veteran ended with an honorable discharge or characterization of honorable service for active duty deaths.

(a) Primarily eligible persons for interment or inurnment. The following are primarily eligible persons for purposes of interment or inurnment:

(1) A graduate of the USMA, provided the individual was a U.S. citizen, both as a cadet and at the time of death, and whose military service fulfilled one of the following criteria.

(i) The graduate's service in the Armed Forces of the United States, if any, terminated honorably.

(ii) The graduate's service in wartime in the Armed Forces of a nation that was allied with the United States during the war terminated honorably.

(2) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States, including USMA cadets, who were on active duty at the USMA at time of death and their derivatively eligible person dependents who may have died while the service member was on active duty at the USMA.

(3) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States who were on active duty at the USMA at time of retirement.

(4) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States whose last active duty station prior to retirement for physical disability was the USMA. However, personnel (not otherwise eligible) who are transferred to the Medical Holding Detachment, Keller Army Hospital, for medical boarding or medical disability retirement are not, regardless of length of time, eligible for interment or inurnment in the West Point Cemetery or Columbarium.

(5) Officers appointed as Professors, USMA.

(b) Derivatively eligible persons. Derivatively eligible persons are those connected to an individual described in paragraph (a) of this section through a relationship described in § 553.43(b). Such individuals may be interred or inurned if space is available in the primarily eligible person's gravesite or niche.

(c) Temporary restrictions. The Secretary of the Army or his designee may, in special circumstances, impose temporary restrictions on the eligibility standards for the USMA cemetery. If temporary restrictions are imposed, they will be reviewed annually to ensure the special circumstances remain valid for retaining the temporary restrictions.