An Act to amend the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945
PL 82-439 (H.R.404), enacted 07/03/1952

66 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 439-JULY 3, 1952 
321 
SEC. 12. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums 
of money as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act. 
Approved July 1, 1952. 
Appropriati on. 
Public Law 437 
CHAPTER 540 
AN ACT 
To amend the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the extension of the term of 
certain patents of persons who served in the military or naval forces of the 
United States during World AVar II", 
July 1, 1952 
[S. 1537] 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States 
of America 
in Congress assembled, That the Act 
entitled "An Act to provide for the extension of the term of certain 
patents of persons who served in the military or naval forces of the 
United States during World War II", approved June 30,1950 (Public 
Law 598, Eighty-first Congress), is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new section: 
"SEC. 5. (a) No person shall be held not to be the sole owner of 
a patent within the meaning of this Act, by reason of any interest 
of his spouse in such patent. 
"(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the first section fixing the 
time for filing application for an extension under this Act, such 
application, in the case of any patent held by the applicant and his 
spouse may be filed at any time within six months following the date 
of enactment of this section." 
Approved July 1, 1952. 
E x t e n s i o n of 
certain patents. 
64 Stat. 316. 
35 u s e 115-118, 
Public Law 438 
CHAPTER 547 
AN ACT 
To amend section 709 of title 18 of the United States Code, 
July 3, 1952 
[S. 2214] 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of Amenca in Congress assembled, That section 709 of 
title 18 of the United States Code is amended by inserting immediately 
before the last paragraph thereof a new paragraph as follows: 
"This section shall not make unlawful the use of the w^ord 'national' 
as part of the name of any business or firm engaged in the insurance or 
indemnity business, whether such firm was engaged in the insurance or 
indemnity business prior or subsequent to the date of enactment of this 
paragraph." 
Approved July 3, 1952. 
False 
ing, etc. 
62 Stat. 
advertis-
733. 
Public Law 439 
CHAPTER 
AN ACT 
To amend the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945. 
548 
July 3, 1952 
[H. R. 404] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1 of 
the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945, approved May 29, 1945 
(59 Stat. 225), be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: 
SEC. 1. (a) That the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the 
Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force, and such other officer or 
Military Person-
nel Claims Act of 
1945, amendment. 
31 u s e 
2 2 2 c 
note. 
322 
PUBLIC LAW 439-JULY 3, 1952 
[66 S T A T . 
Payment to sur-
vivor. 
Time limitation. 
officers as they may designate for such purposes and under such 
regulations as they, respectively, may prescribe, are hereby author-
ized to consider, ascertain, adjust, determine, settle, and pay any 
claim not in excess of $2,500 against the United States, including 
claims not heretofore satisfied, arising on or after December 7, 1939, 
of military personnel and civilian employees of the Department of 
the Army or of the Army, and including civilian employees of the 
War Department during its existence, of military personnel and 
civilian employees of the Department of the Navy or of the Navy, 
and of military personnel and civilian employees of Department of 
the Air Force or of the Air Force, when such claim is substantiated, 
and the property determined to be reasonable, useful, necessary, or 
proper under the attendant circumstances, in such manner as the 
Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary 
of the Air Force, as to the military personnel and civilian employees 
of their respective Departments and services, may by regulation pre-
scribed, for damage to or loss, destruction, capture, or abandonment 
of personal property occurring incident to their service, or to replace 
such personal property in kind: Provided^ That the damage to or 
loss, destruction, capture, or abandonment of property shall not have 
been caused in whole or in part by any negligent or wrongful act on 
the part of the claimant, his agent, or employee, and shall not have 
occurred at quarters occupied by the claimant within the continental 
United States (excluding Alaska) which are not assigned to him or 
otherwise provided in kind by the Government: And provided 
fur-
ther^ That the Secretary of Defense, and such other officer or officers 
as he may designate for the purpose, and under such regulations as 
he may prescribe, are hereby authorized to exercise with respect to 
claims of civilian employees of the Department of Defense not here-
inbefore enumerated, arising on or after July 25, 1947, for damage to 
or loss, destruction, capture, or abandonment of personal property 
occurring incident to their service, powers similar to those conferred 
upon the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the 
Secretary of the Air Force and their designees by this Act with 
respect to claims of military personnel and civilian employees of their 
Departments, 
(b) The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the 
Secretary of the Air Force, and the Secretary of Defense, and their 
designees, respectively, in the event of the death of any person among 
the military personnel or civilian employees enumerated in subsec-
tion (a), are hereby authorized to consider, ascertain, adjust, deter-
mine, settle, and pay any claim, otherwise cognizable under this Act, 
presented by the survivor of such person for damage to or loss, 
destruction, capture, or abandonment of the personal property of such 
person, regardless of whether such damage, loss, destruction, capture, 
or abandonment occurred concurrently with or subsequent to such 
death. 
(c) As used in this Act, the term "survivor" means surviving spouse, 
child or children, father and/or mother, or brothers and/or sisters of 
the decedent, and claims by survivors shall be settled and paid in that 
order of precedence. 
(d) Every claim cognizable under this Act shall be forever barred 
unless presented in writing within two years after such claim accrues 
or within one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, which-
ever is later: Provided^ That if a claim accrues in time of war, or if 
war intervenes within two years after the date of accrual, it may, on 
good cause shown, be presented within two years after such good 
cause ceases to exist, but not later than two years after peace is estab-
lished : And provided further^ That any claim cognizable under this 
Act which has not heretofore been presented for consideration, or has 
66 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 440-JULY 3, 1952 
323 
been presented for consideration and disapproved for the reason that 
the claimant did not file such claim within the time authorized by 
law, or any claim cognizable hereunder of any survivor which has 
not heretofore been presented for consideration, or has been presented 
for consideration and disapproved for the reason that heretofore 
such survivor acquired no right of recovery under this Act, may, at 
the written request of the claimant made within one year from the 
date of the enactment of this amendatory Act, be considered or recon-
sidered and settled in accordance with the provisions hereof. 
(e) Any settlement made by the Secretary of the Army, the Secre-
tary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, or the Secretary 
of Defense, or their designees, under the authority of this Act and 
such regulations as they, respectively, may prescribe hereunder, shall 
be final and conclusive for all purposes, notwithstanding any other 
provision of law to the contrary. 
All such settlements shall be 
reported to the Congress annually by the heads of the departments 
concerned and the report shall state with respect to each settlement 
the name of the claimant, the amount claimed, and the amount paid. 
SEC. 2. That section 2 of the Military Personnel Claims Act of 
1945 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
SEC. 2. Such appropriations as may be required for the settlement 
of claims under the provisions of this Act are hereby authorized. 
Appropriations now available to the Department of the Army and 
the Department of the Air Force for the settlement of claims under 
the provisions of the Act of May 29, 1945 (59 Stat. 225), and to the 
Department of the Navy for the settlement of claims under the pro-
visions of the Act of December 28, 1945 (59 Stat. 662), shall be avail-
able for the settlement of claims under the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 3. That section 2 of the Act of December 28, 1945 (59 Stat. 
662), is hereby repealed. 
Approved July 3, 1952. 
Settlement. 
Reports. 
31 u s e 222d. 
Appropriation. 
38 u s e 693 note. 
Repeal. 
Public Law 440 
CHAPTER 549 
AN ACT 
To authorize the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole Tribes of 
Indians to make contracts with approval of the Secretary of the Interior, or 
his authorized representative, under such rules and regulations as the Secre-
tary of the Interior may prescribe. 
uly 3, 1952 
1788] 
Jul 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States 
of America 
in Congress assembled., That contracts 
involving the payment or expenditure of any money or affecting any 
property belonging to the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or 
Seminole Tribes of Indians, including contracts for professional legal 
services, may be made by said tribes, with the approval of the Secre-
tary of the Interior, or his authorized representative, under such rules 
and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe: Pro-
vided., That the provisions of this section shall not apply to contracts 
for professional legal services involving the prosecution of claims 
against the United States. 
SEC. 2. That the second proviso in section 28 of the Act of April 26, 
1906 (34 Stat. 148), and the provisions contained in the fifth paragraph 
of section IT of the Act of March 3, 1911 (36 Stat. 1070), dealing with 
contracts made by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribes of Indians for 
professional legal services of attorneys, are hereby repealed. 
Approved July 3, 1952. 
Indians, 
eontracts. 
Repeals. 
93300 O - 53 - 24