92 Decision Citation: BVA 92-08731

 Y92 
                          BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
                       WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420

    DOCKET NO.  91-47 410       )    DATE
                                )
                                )
                                )

                              THE ISSUE

    Service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

                           REPRESENTATION

    Appellant represented by:  The American Legion

                       ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

    Sabrina Tilley, Associate Counsel
                            INTRODUCTION

    The veteran performed active service from December 1954 to
    May 1969.  This matter comes to the Board of Veterans'
    Appeals (hereinafter Board) on appeal from a rating decision
    dated in October 1990 from the Houston, Texas, Regional
    Office (hereinafter RO).  The notice of disagreement was
    received in April 1991.  The statement of the case was
    issued in April 1991.  The substantive appeal was received
    in May 1991.  The supplemental statement of the case was
    issued in June 1991.  The case was docketed at the Board in
    November 1991.  The appellant is represented by The American
    Legion, which organization submitted additional argument in
    January 1992.

                               REMAND

    The veteran's certificate of death shows that he died in
    August 1990 from arteriosclerotic heart disease.  At the
    time of his death, service connection was in effect for
    nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease, evaluated as
    100 percent disabling from June 28, 1982.  The appellant,
    the veteran's widow, is claiming, primarily that drugs and
    treatment provided for the service-connected Hodgkin's
    disease caused the fatal heart disease.  The current record
    indicates that the veteran was provided radiation treatment
    while in service and after service at the Department of
    Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Houston, Texas.  In
    order to comply with the duty to assist the appellant
    mandated under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a) (1992),
    the RO must obtain all pertinent records of treatment for
    the veteran's Hodgkin's disease provided during service and
    in the post service years.  In view of the foregoing, this
    case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions.

             1.  The RO should attempt to obtain all
             inservice radiation treatment records.
             All evidence obtained should be
             associated with the veteran's claims
             folder.

             2.  The RO should also attempt to obtain
             all records of treatment of the veteran
             for Hodgkin's disease, including
             radiation therapy provided at the VA
             Medical Center in Houston, Texas.  These
             records should be associated with the
             veteran's claims folder.

    Following completion of this action, the RO should review
    the evidence to determine whether or not the appellant's
    claim may now be granted.  If not, both she and her
    representative should be provided a supplemental statement
    of the case and an opportunity to respond.  Thereafter, the
    case should be returned to the Board.

                     BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
                       WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420

    *
                                            SHANE A. DURKIN

                          ROBERT E. SULLIVAN

    *38 U.S.C. § 7102(a)(2)(A) (1991) permits a Board of
    Veterans' Appeals Section, upon direction of the Chairman of
    the Board, to proceed with the transaction of business
    without awaiting assignment of an additional Member to the
    Section when the Section is composed of fewer than three
    Members due to absence of a Member, vacancy on the Board or
    inability of the Member assigned to the Section to serve on
    the panel.  The Chairman has directed that the Section
    proceed with the transaction of business, including the
    issuance of decisions, without awaiting the assignment of a
    third Member.

    Under 38 U.S.C. § 7252 (1992), only a decision of the Board
    of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
    Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of
    a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of
    the Board on the merits of your appeal.