How does the US military notify the next of kin when someone has died in service? Does a chaplain or other officer actually travel to the home of the NoK to give them the news in person, or do they just telephone it? And if the former, what do they do when the NoK live a long ways from the nearest base? There’s places in this country that are hundreds of miles from any military base, and it would take all day just to get there. What do they do in that situation?
This article from the Athens, GA paper (cached) says, “Without a major military base in the state, notification of families falls to the West Virginia National Guard when a soldier, sailor or airman is killed or missing.”
I can’t find any cites for what happens when people live in a place inaccessible to outside travel (i.e. snowed in roads), but I would speculate that local law enforcement might be asked to assist. (I can tell you from personal experience that if your non-military loved one dies in another state and there isn’t another family member or friend there to contact you, they will call your local police to send an officer to inform you.)