WASHINGTON — The family of an Arkansas National Guard soldier who died at home during training will receive death benefits after the U.S. Army reversed an earlier decision denying the claim.
Capt. Samson Luke, 34, an Iraq War veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star, died of heart problems Jan. 10, 2010, in his Sebastian County home.
Since it was a Saturday night during weekend exercises at Fort Chaffee, Luke — with his superior’s blessing — drove about 15 miles to his family home in Greenwood, where he died in his sleep.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said the Army had orally agreed to provide Luke’s family with benefits normally conferred on the families of soldiers who die in the line of duty.
The Army had denied the family the benefits because Luke died at home rather than at an Army facility during active duty or training. At the time of his death, Luke was training at Fort Chaffee with his unit, part of the Arkansas National Guard’s 142nd Field Artillery Regiment.
Miranda Luke, the captain’s widow, said the reversal not only means she’ll receive a death gratuity of $100,000, reimbursement for funeral expenses and access to the military’s college tuition and health-care programs — it means that after fighting the case in the Army appeals system for almost two years, she’s back in the military family.
“We feel like we’re finally let back in,” she said Wednesday. “It was hard to be disconnected.”
Earlier this month, Pryor attempted to remedy the situation for the Lukes and other military families in similar situations by changing the language in federal law to allow the payment of military death benefits when a soldier on active duty or in training dies “in the vicinity of” his base.
Pryor offered an amendment with the new language to a broader defense authorization bill that passed in both houses of Congress and awaits President Barack Obama’s signature. But while on the Senate floor, Pryor’s amendment was changed to apply only to future cases and not retroactively to cases such as Luke’s. However, some senators, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed a preference to deal with retroactive situations like Luke’s administratively, rather than through a change in policy.
Situations like Luke’s are irregular, said Pryor, who estimated that the change in the law would cost less than $1 million over 10 years.
Pryor had a phone call scheduled for Wednesday with Secretary of the Army John McHugh. But on Tuesday afternoon, McHugh’s office called Pryor’s Washington office to inform the senator that the Luke family’s appeal to the Army Board of Corrections for Military Records had been granted.
“That maybe prompted them to make a quick decision,” Pryor said, referring to the scheduled phone call with McHugh.
Although the Pryor amendment in the defense bill was not retroactive, Pryor said, it made congressional intent clear.
“That was one of the deciding factors” for the Army, Pryor said.
Miranda Luke, a church and Parent Teacher Association volunteer, said she has gone without a job so she can spend more time raising her four children who are ages 6, 8, 11 and 12. She said the benefits will really help out.
“The Army is finally doing the right thing,” she said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/22/2011