### Question
How is the term hostile casualty defined?


### Answer
The term **hostile casualty** is defined in *38 U.S.C. § 2402* as the following:

> a person who, as a member of the Armed Forces, dies as the direct result of hostile action with the enemy, while in combat, while going to or returning from a combat mission if the cause of death was directly related to hostile action, or while hospitalized or undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for injury incurred during combat, and includes a person killed mistakenly or accidentally by friendly fire directed at a hostile force or what is thought to be a hostile force, but does not include a person who dies due to the elements, a self-inflicted wound, combat fatigue, or a friendly force while the person was in an absent-without-leave, deserter, or dropped-from-rolls status or was voluntarily absent from a place of duty

#### Citation:
  - *38 U.S.C. § 2402*
  - Heading: **PART II-GENERAL BENEFITS > CHAPTER 24-NATIONAL CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS**

