The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society provides educational assistance for the children and unremarried spouses of deceased service members.  Awards are determined by NMCRS Headquarters Education Division:

For dependent children (use the application entitled Children of Deceased Service Member Scholarship Program):

  • If the service member died in retired status.
  • If the active duty service member died on active duty.
  • USS STARK Memorial Scholarship Fund: dependent children of those crewmembers of the USS Stark who died, or were disabled, as a result of the missile attack on the ship in the Persian Gulf on 17 May 1987. 
  • USS COLE Memorial Fund (dependent children of crewmembers who perished as a result of the terrorist attack of October 12, 2000).
  • Pentagon Assistance Fund (dependent children of deceased military personnel who perished as a result of the terrorist attack September 11, 2001).

The Children of Deceased Service Members Scholarship Program is provided here, by selecting the below button, as a .PDF file.  It can be opened, completed and printed with Adobe Acrobat.  Make sure you read the entire application package carefully.


If you don't have Adobe Acrobat, it is available free from the Adobe web site. Note: This form can now be filled out on your computer. Information on how to do this is available from our "Form Help" page.

Deadline: March 1

For unremarried spouses (use the application entitled Education Assistance for Unremarried Spouses below) :

  •  USS STARK Memorial Fund — unremarried spouses of crewmembers who died as a result of the missile attack on the ship in the Persian Gulf on May 17, 1987, as well as unremarried spouses of those service members disabled due to the attack on STARK
  •  Pentagon Assistance Fund (PAF) — unremarried spouses of deceased military personnel who perished as a result of the terrorist attached September 11, 2001.
  • Unremarried spouses of active duty service members who died during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat operations before 1 June 2007.

The application package for the Education Assistance for Unremarried Spouses program is provided here, by selecting the below button, as a .PDF file. It can be opened, completed and printed with Adobe Acrobat. Make sure you read all pages of the application package carefully.


136 kb .PDF file - 8 pages)

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat, it is available free from the Adobe web site. Note: This form can now be filled out on your computer. Information on how to do this is available from our "Form Help" page.

Deadline: Two months prior to the start of school.

If you have any questions, call NMCRS Education Programs at (703) 696-4960 or DSN: 426-4960, or e-mail us at education@nmcrs.org.

Our mailing address is:
NMCRS, Education Programs
875 North Randolph Street   Suite 225
Arlington VA  22203-1767

This page was updated 9 April 2009


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