Sole Survivor Policy
US military policy around protecting family members of dead soldiers
The Sole Survivor Policy or United States Department of Defense Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" describes a set of regulations in the United States military, partially stipulated by law, that are designed to protect members of a family from the draft during peacetime or wartime if they have already lost family members to military service. This policy has been in effect since 1948.
History
The issue that gave rise to the regulations first caught public attention after the five Sullivan brothers were all killed when the USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk during World War II.
Section 6(o) of the Military Selective Service Act of 1948 exempted the sole surviving son of a family where one or more sons or daughters had been killed in action, died in the line of duty, or subsequently died of injuries or disease incurred while in military service, from being drafted either in peacetime or wartime.
In 1971, during the Vietnam War, Congress amended Section 6(o) of the law to remove the restriction on surviving sons being drafted during periods of war or national emergency declared by Congress. Any son, not just a sole surviving son, was exempt from being drafted in peacetime if their father, brother, or sister had been killed in action or died in the line of duty before December 31, 1959, or died subsequent to that date as a result of injuries or disease incurred while in service. Sons were also exempt from being drafted in peacetime if a father, brother, or sister was in a prisoner of war or missing in action status. The sole surviving son was permitted to apply for voluntary induction into the military, however.
The amendment also provided that a son or sons who had been drafted and had not voluntarily extended their term of service or re-enlisted, and during their service had come under the criteria of Section 6(o) that would have prohibited them from being inducted as civilians, were permitted to apply for immediate discharge from the armed forces. Men undergoing court martial proceedings were not permitted to apply for discharge until the proceedings had been completed or the sentence handed down had been served.
Since the passage of the law, each branch of the military has made its policies with regard to separating immediate family members.
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