§ 1701 — Compensation For Injury Or Death Resulting From War-risk Hazard

(a) In case of injury or death resulting from injury— (1) to any person employed by a contractor with the United States, if such person in an employee specified in chapter 11 of this title, and no compensation is payable with respect to such injury or death under such chapter; or (2) to any person engaged by the United States under a contract for his personal services outside the continental United States; or (3) to any person employed outside the continental United States as a civilian employee paid from nonappropriated funds administered by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service, Navy Ship’s Store Ashore, Navy exchanges, Marine Corps exchanges, officers’ and noncommissioned officers’ open messes, enlisted men’s clubs, service clubs, special service activities, or any other instrumentality of the United States under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and conducted for the mental, physical, and morale improvement of personnel of the Department of Defense and their dependents; or (4) to any person who is an employee specified in section 1651(a)(5) of this title, if no compensation is payable with respect to such injury or death under chapter 11 of this title or to any person engaged under a contract for his personal services outside the United States approved and financed by the United States under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended (other than title II of chapter II thereof unless the Secretary of Labor, upon the recommendation of the head of any department or other agency of the United States Government, determines a contract financed under a successor provision of any successor Act should be covered by this section): Provided, That in cases where the United States is not a formal party to contracts approved and financed under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the head of any department or agency of the United States, may, in the exercise of his discretion, waive the application of the provisions of this subparagraph with respect to any such contracts, subcontracts, or subordinate contracts, work location under such contracts, subcontracts, or subordinate contracts, or classification of employees; or (5) to any person employed or otherwise engaged for personal services outside the continental United States by an American employer providing welfare or similar services for the benefit of the Armed Forces pursuant to appropriate authorization by the Secretary of Defense, (1) Any person specified in subsection (a) who— (A) is found to be missing from his place of employment, whether or not such person then actually was engaged in the course of his employment, under circumstances supporting an inference that his absence is due to the belligerent action of a hostile force or person, or (B) is known to have been taken by a hostile force or person as a prisoner, hostage, or otherwise, or (C) is not returned to his home or to the place where he was employed by reason of the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish transportation, (2) Upon application by such person, or someone on his behalf, the Secretary may, under such regulations as he may prescribe, furnish transportation or the cost thereof (including reimbursement) to any such person from the point where his release from custody by a hostile force or person is effected, to his some, the place of his employment, or other place within the jurisdiction of the United States; but no transportation, or the cost thereof, shall be furnished under this paragraph where such person is furnished such transportation, or the cost thereof, under any agreement with his employer or under any other provision of law. (3) In the case of death of any such person, if his death occurred away from his home, the body of such person shall, in the discretion of the Secretary, and if so desired by his next of kin, near relative, or legal representative, be embalmed and transported in a hermetically sealed casket or other appropriate container to the home of such person or to such other place as may be designated by such next of kin, near relative, or legal representative. No expense shall be incurred under this paragraph by the Secretary in any case where death takes place after repatriation, unless such death proximately results from a war-risk hazard. (4) Such benefits for detention, transportation expenses of repatriated persons, and expenses of embalming, providing sealed or other appropriate container, and transportation of the body, and attendants (if required), as approved by the Secretary, shall be paid out of the compensation fund established under section 8147 of title 5. (c) Compensation for permanent total or permanent partial disability or for death payable under this section to persons who are not citizens of the United States and who are not residents of the United States or Canada, shall be in the same amount as provided for residents; except that dependents in any foreign country shall be limited to surviving wife or husband and child or children, or if there be no surviving wife or husband or child or children, to surviving father or mother whom such person has supported, either wholly or in part, for the period of one year immediately prior to the date of the injury; and except that the Secretary, at his option, may commute all future installments of compensation to be paid to such persons by paying to them one-half of the commuted amount of such future installments of compensation as determined by the Secretary. (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of any person (1) whose residence is at or in the vicinity of the place of his employment, and (2) who is not living there solely by virtue of the exigencies of his employment, unless his injury or death resulting from injury occurs or his detention begins while in the course of his employment, or (3) who is a prisoner of war or a protected person under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and who is detained or utilized by the United States.