I agree with the above posters that the father must have co-signed the loan, otherwise Sallie Mae would have no standing whatsoever as federal student loans are discharged at death. If he did not co-sign, to those of you who think "the family should pay the loan" - if they didn't take it out, no, they shouldn't have to pay the loan. Would you like to be on the hook for a loan your family member took out that you had no part of? If his father co-signed it's trickier, but I think that the son's death should be enough, it isn't like it defaulted. Still, legally, that isn't enough. It's a good reason to think about whether parents should be co-signing education loans and whether our education system needs an overhaul.

P.S. - to those of you wondering why he spent so much and didn't get a degree - read closer. He did. He also WAS an officer - second lieutenant is an officer - a junior officer, but still an officer. chances are he wasn't a Marine that long.