§ 1126. Gold star lapel button: eligibility and distribution

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1966

   Pub. L. 89–534 § 1(1) · 80 Stat. 345

   Enacted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126

   Added Pub. L. 89–534, § 1(1), Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 345, § 1124

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Added Pub. L. 89–534, § 1(1), Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 345, § 1124

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (1) by adding the following new section at the end thereof: “§ 1124. Gold star lapel button: eligibility and distribution “(a) A lapel button, to be known as the gold star lapel button, shall be designed, as approved by the Secretary of Defense, to identify widows, parents, and next of kin of members of the armed forces of the United States— “(1) Who lost their lives during World War I, World War II, or during any subsequent period of armed hostilities in which the United States was engaged before July 1, 1958; or “(2) who lost or lose their lives after June 30, 1958— “(i) while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; “(ii) while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or “(iii) while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force. “(b) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary concerned, upon application to him, shall furnish one gold star lapel button without cost to the widow and to each parent and next of kin of a member who lost or loses his or her life under any circumstances prescribed in subsection (a). “(c) Not more than one gold star lapel button may be furnished to any one individual except that, when a gold star lapel button furnished under this section has been lost, destroyed, or rendered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part of the person to whom it was furnished, the button may lie replaced upon application and payment of an amount sufficient to cover the cost of manufacture and distribution. “(d) In this section— “(1) ‘widow’ includes widower; “(2) ‘parents’ includes mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption, father through adoption, and foster parents who stood in loco parentis; “(3) ‘next of kin’ includes only children, brothers, sisters, half brothers, and half sisters; “(4) ‘children’ includes stepchildren and children through adoption; “(5) ‘World War I’ includes the period from April 6, 1917, to March 3, 1921; and “(6) ‘World War II’ includes the period from September 8, 1939, to July 25, 1947, at 12 o’clock noon.”; and

2. 1983

   Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1984

   Pub. L. 98–94 title XII § 1268(8) · 97 Stat. 614

   Substituted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(a)(1)

   Pub. L. 98–94 substituted “who” for “Who”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–94 substituted “who” for “Who”.

3. 1987

   Defense Technical Corrections Act of 1987

   Pub. L. 100–26 § 7(k)(5) · 101 Stat. 273

   1. Substituted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 100–26 substituted colon for dash at end of introductory provisions

   2. Inserted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 100–26 inserted “The term” in each par.

   3. Substituted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 100–26 substituted periods for semicolons in pars. (1) to (4) and period for “; and” in par. (5)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–26 substituted colon for dash at end of introductory provisions, inserted “The term” in each par., and substituted periods for semicolons in pars. (1) to (4) and period for “; and” in par. (5).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (5) Sections 1126(d) and 7420 are amended— (A) by striking out the dash in the matter preceding paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof a colon; (B) by inserting “The term” in each paragraph after the paragraph designation; (C) by striking out the semicolon at the end of each of paragraphs (1) through (4) and inserting in lieu thereof a period; and (D) by striking out “; and” at the end of paragraph (5) and inserting in lieu thereof a period.

4. 1993

   Pub. L. 103–160 § 1143(a) · 107 Stat. 1547

   1. Struck · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(a)

      Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(a), struck out “of the United States” after “armed forces” in introductory provisions

   2. Redesignated · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(a)

      Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(a), redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) of par. (2) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively

   3. Added · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(a)

      Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(a), added par. (3)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(a), struck out “of the United States” after “armed forces” in introductory provisions, redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) of par. (2) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and added par. (3).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (a) Eligibility.— Subsection (a) of section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking out “of the United States” in the matter preceding paragraph (1); (2) by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (1); (3) in paragraph (2)— (A) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and (B) by striking out the period at the end and inserting in lieu thereof “; or”; and (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) who lost or lose their lives after March 28, 1973, as a result of— “(A) an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of Defense; or “(B) military operations while serving outside the United States (including the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States) as part of a peacekeeping force.”.

5. 1993

   Pub. L. 103–160 § 1143(b) · 107 Stat. 1547

   Added · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)(7); 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)(8)

   Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(b), added pars. (7) and (8)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (d)(7), (8). Pub. L. 103–160, § 1143(b), added pars. (7) and (8).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (b) Definitions.— Subsection (d) of such section is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: “(7) The term ‘military operations’ includes those operations involving members of the armed forces assisting in United States Government sponsored training of military personnel of a foreign nation. “(8) The term ‘peacekeeping force’ includes those personnel assigned to a force engaged in a peacekeeping operation authorized by the United Nations Security Council.”.

6. 2019

   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

   Pub. L. 116–92 § 581(a)(1) · 133 Stat. 1198

   Struck · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(a)

   Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(1), struck out “widows, parents, and” after “identify” in introductory provisions

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(1), struck out “widows, parents, and” after “identify” in introductory provisions.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (1) in subsection (a), by striking “widows, parents, and” in the matter preceding paragraph (1);

7. 2019

   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

   Pub. L. 116–92 § 581(a)(2) · 133 Stat. 1198

   Substituted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(b)

   Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(2), substituted “each” for “the widow and to each parent and”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(2), substituted “each” for “the widow and to each parent and”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (2) in subsection (b), by striking “the widow and to each parent and” and inserting “each”; and

8. 2019

   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

   Pub. L. 116–92 § 581(b) · 133 Stat. 1198

   Substituted · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(c)

   Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(b), substituted “and without cost.” for “and payment of an amount sufficient to cover the cost of manufacture and distribution.”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(b), substituted “and without cost.” for “and payment of an amount sufficient to cover the cost of manufacture and distribution.”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (b) Replacement.— Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking “and payment” and all that follows and inserting “and without cost.”.

9. 2019

   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

   Pub. L. 116–92 § 581(a)(3) · 133 Stat. 1198

   1. Added · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(3), added par. (1)

   2. Redesignated · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(3), redesignated pars. (5) to (8) as (2) to (5), respectively

   3. Struck · 10 U.S.C. § 1126(d)

      Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(3), struck out former pars. (1), (2), (3), and (4) which defined “widow”, “parents”, “next of kin”, and “children”, respectively

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92, § 581(a)(3), added par. (1), redesignated pars. (5) to (8) as (2) to (5), respectively, and struck out former pars. (1), (2), (3), and (4) which defined “widow”, “parents”, “next of kin”, and “children”, respectively.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (3) in subsection (d)— (A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) and inserting the following new paragraph (1): “(1) The term ‘next of kin’ means individuals standing in such relationship to members of the armed forces described in subsection (a) as the Secretaries concerned shall jointly specify in regulations for purposes of this section.” ; and (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), respectively.

14 of 15 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial