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284841533
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White House Press Release
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document
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1
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284841533
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document
title
White House Press Release
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White House Press Release Files (Truman Administration)
White House Press Releases
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284841533
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2
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1948-07-02
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7
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1948
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bbcdc4d029a63f75
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302
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 2, 1948
MIMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL
I have withheld my approval from S. 1717, "An Act For the
relief of the estate of William R. Stigall, deceased."
The purpose of this bill is to compensate the estate of
William R. Stigall, deceased, for his death from injuries sustained
by him while in the military service.
It appears that on September 5, 1941, Private William R.
Stigall, a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Signal Armored
Battalion, Fort Knox, Kentucky, which was en route from Fort Knox
to Camp Polk, Louisiana, by Army convoy, was accidentally electrocuted
when the antenna of the radio scout car in which he was riding touched
a high-tension electric power line. The convoy had halted by the
roadside for the noonday meal. The antenna of the radio scout car
was released to permit the canvas top of the car to be rolled back,
and as the antenna rose into the air it came into contact with a
high-tension power line approximately 19 feet above the ground.
Private Stigall dismounted from the car, with one hand on the door
thereof, and as he stepped on the ground, completing the circuit,
the current flowed through his body, causing his death almost
instantly. It appears that the power line had not been recognized
as such by any member of the military personnel, in view of the fact
that it was composed of two light wires suspended comparatively close
to the ground.
In view of the fact that at the time of his death Private
Stigall was in line of duty as an enlisted man of the Army, any
dependents left by him would be entitled to all of the benefits
conferred by general law on dependents of members of the armed forces
of the United States who die in line of duty. It appears, however,
that Private Stigall left no one who was dependent upon him. His
service record, under the heading "Government Insurance," bears the
notation "No insurance desired." Had he chosen to take advantage
of the opportunity afforded him to obtain National Service Life
Insurance, he could have been insured in the maximum amount of
$10,000, and his beneficiary, or beneficiaries, would have been
compensated in that amount for his death. However, his father,
Dumont Stigall, received the statutory death gratuity benefit, in
an amount equal to the decedent's Army pay for six months.
The approval of this bill awarding compensation for the
death of Private Stigall would be discriminatory in that it would
grant to his estate a special benefit denied to the estates of other
members of the armed forces where the facts are similar and to the
estates of military and naval personnel who are killed in action.
There are no circumstances present in this case that would warrant
singling out this estate for preferential treatment. On June 11, 1948,
I withheld my approval from a similar bill, S. 252, "An Act For the
relief of the estato of Lee Jones Cardy," (Congressional Record, Vol.
94, P. 8355, June 14, 1948). While deeply regretting the untimely
death of Private Stigall, I am obliged to withhold my approval from
this bill.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 2, 1948.