Whit --

Thanks for asking! Surviving military records of these soldiers don't always answer our questions, but oftentimes there's more here than can be found on soldiers from WWII and the Korean War. Eighty percenty of U.S. military service files were destroyed by fire at the records center in St. Louis MO, July 12, 1973:

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

You'll note that Thomas J. Bennett enlisted on June 19th. The first few weeks of a soldier's enlistment involved a rather severe readjustment. Despite what we might imagine, these men weren't used to life in the open or the low-calorie diet offered by the commissary. Poor sanitary conditions, including the lack of simple items like soap, also had an adverse impact on a man's health.

If a soldier survived the first year, chances were fair that he could endure the remainder of the war. However, the attrition rate due to disease in the first few months in service was terribly high. Bennett probably became ill when the weather turned cold and wet, and medicines that could've easily saved his life weren't available.

The claim by the widow was filed to recover payments due her husband at the time of his death.