---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 1488"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "1488"
heading: "Removal of remains"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/1488"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part II — Personnel"
  - "Chapter 75 — Deceased Personnel"
  - "Subchapter II — Death Benefits"
---

# §1488. Removal of remains

- (a) **Removal Upon Discontinuance of Installation Cemetery.—** If a cemetery on a [military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) reservation, including an installation cemetery, has been or is to be discontinued, the [Secretary concerned](/usc/10/2801.md?p=c-5) may provide for the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of remains from that cemetery to any other cemetery.
- (b) **Removal From Temporary Interment or Abandoned Grave or Cemetery.—** With respect to any deceased member of an armed force under the jurisdiction of the [Secretary concerned](/usc/10/2801.md?p=c-5) whose last service terminated honorably by death or otherwise, the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) may also provide for the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of the remains from a place of temporary interment, or from an abandoned grave or cemetery, to a national cemetery.
- (c) **Removal of Remains of Certain Members With No Known Next of Kin.—**
  - (1) The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of the Army may authorize the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of the remains of a covered member of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) who is buried in an Army National [Military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) Cemetery from the Army National [Military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) Cemetery for transfer to any other cemetery.
  - (2) The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of the Army, with the concurrence of the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Veterans Affairs, may authorize the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of the remains of a covered member of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) who is buried in a cemetery of the National Cemetery System from that cemetery for transfer to any Army National [Military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) Cemetery.
  - (3) A [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of remains may not be authorized under this subsection unless the individual seeking the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of the remains—
    - (A) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of the Army that the member of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) concerned has no known next of kin or other [person](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) who is interested in maintaining the place of burial; and
    - (B) undertakes full responsibility for all expenses of the [removal](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) of the remains and the reburial of the remains at another cemetery as authorized by this subsection.
  - (4) In this subsection:
    - (A) The term “Army National [Military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) Cemetery” means a cemetery specified in [section 7721(b) of this title](/usc/10/7721.md?p=b).
    - (B) The term “covered member of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4)” means a member of the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) who—
      - (i) has been awarded the Medal of Honor; and
      - (ii) has no known next of kin.

## Source credit

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 115; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title V, § 594, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3395; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1840.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 1488 | 5:2160 (as applicable to armed forces). | July 15, 1954, ch. 507, § 10 (as applicable to armed forces), 68 Stat. 480. |

The words “national cemeteries, other installation cemeteries, or” are omitted as surplusage.

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2018—Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “section 7721(b)” for “section 4721(b)”.

2014—Pub. L. 113–291 designated first sentence of existing provisions as subsec. (a) and inserted heading, designated second sentence of existing provisions as subsec. (b), inserted heading, and substituted “the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned” for “his jurisdiction”, and added subsec. (c).

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.