10 U.S.C. § 1521 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 10. Armed Forces § 1521. Posthumous commissions

(a) The President may issue, or have issued, an appropriate commission in the name of a member of the armed forces who, after September 8, 1939--

(b) A commission issued under subsection (a) shall issue as of the date of the appointment, recommendation, or official recommendation, as the case may be, and the member's name shall be carried on the records of the military or executive department concerned as if he had served in the grade, and branch if any, in which posthumously commissioned, from the date of the appointment, recommendation, or official recommendation to the date of his death.

(c) A commission issued under subsection (a) in connection with the promotion of a deceased member to a higher commissioned grade shall require certification by the Secretary concerned that, at the time of death of the member, the member was qualified for appointment to that higher grade.