If proper disposition of the remains cannot otherwise be made, the Secretary concerned may provide for the care and disposition of the remains of pensioners and indigent patients who die in hospitals operated by his department and of persons who die on the military reservations of that department and, incident thereto, pay the necessary expenses of—

(1) notification to the next of kin or other appropriate person;

(2) preparation of the remains for burial, including cremation;

(3) furnishing of clothing;

(4) furnishing of a casket or urn, or both, with outside box;

(5) transportation of the remains to a cemetery selected by the Secretary; and

(6) interment of the remains.