Citation Nr: 0814187 Decision Date: 04/30/08 Archive Date: 05/08/08 DOCKET NO. 06-07 607 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland, Oregon THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. Mainelli, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from May 1969 to December 1972. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2004 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Portland, Oregon. FINDING OF FACT The veteran's PTSD stems from facilitating the return of dead soldiers while performing air cargo duties at Tan Son Nhut Air Base (AB) in the Republic of Vietnam. CONCLUSION OF LAW Service connection for PTSD is established. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1110, 5107 (West 2002 & Supp. 2007); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304 (2007). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military duty. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1110. Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Establishment of service connection for PTSD requires: (1) medical evidence diagnosing PTSD; (2) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred; and (3) medical evidence of a link between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). See also Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 (1997). A diagnosis of PTSD must be established in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a), which simply mandates that, for VA purposes, all mental disorder diagnoses must conform to the 4th edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) has taken judicial notice of the mental health profession's adoption of the DSM-IV as well as its more liberalizing standards to establish a diagnosis of PTSD. The Court acknowledged the change from an objective "would evoke . . . in almost anyone" standard in assessing whether a stressor is sufficient to trigger PTSD to a subjective standard (e.g., whether a person's exposure to a traumatic event and response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror). Thus, as noted by the Court, a more susceptible person could have PTSD under the DSM-IV criteria given his or her exposure to a traumatic event that would not necessarily have the same effect on "almost everyone." Cohen, 10 Vet. App. 128, 140-141 (1997). As addressed more fully below, the veteran alleges non-combat stressors. In such a situation, there must be independent evidence to corroborate the veteran's statement as to the occurrence of the claimed stressor. Doran v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 283, 288-89 (1994). The veteran's testimony, by itself, cannot, as a matter of law, establish the occurrence of a non-combat stressor. Dizoglio v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 163, 166 (1996). Moreover, a medical opinion diagnosing PTSD does not suffice to verify the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressors. Cohen, 10 Vet. App. at 142; Moreau v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 389, 395-396 (1996). In Pentecost v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 124 (2002), the Court determined that the fact that a veteran, who had noncombat military occupational specialty, who was stationed with a unit that was present while enemy attacks occurred would strongly suggest that he was, in fact, exposed to such attacks. In other words, the veteran's presence with a unit at the time such attacks occurred would corroborate his statement that he experienced such attacks on a personal basis. A stressor need not be corroborated in every detail. Suozzi v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 307 (1997). Corroboration of the veteran's personal participation in those events is unnecessary. Pentecost v. Principi, at 128. In this case, the Board notes that the veteran's VA clinical records contain unequivocal diagnoses of PTSD which conform to the DSM-IV criteria. 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a). These records clearly document that one of the stressors supporting the PTSD diagnosis is the veteran's report of facilitating the return of dead soldiers in body bags at Tan Son Nhut AB for return to the continental United States. Based on the above, the issue presented on appeal concerns whether the veteran's non-combat stressor found productive of PTSD is corroborated by independent evidence of record. Doran, 6 Vet. App. at 288-89. The veteran's personnel records confirm that he was stationed at Tan Son Nhut AB from July 24, 1970 to July 9, 1971. He was assigned to the 8th Aerial Port Squadron (AEPSq) as an Air Cargo Specialist. An Airman Performance Report, covering the period from June 1970 to December 1970, rated his performance as outstanding in coordinating contracts with commercial air carriers which averaged over 300 missions per month. There is no direct evidence, however, that the veteran received and loaded body remains. Nonetheless, the Board has been able to confirm through its own research that a mortuary facility was located at Tan Son Nhut AB, which was expanded in 1968 to include a 20 table facility and Central Identification Laboratory (CIL). See Mortuary Affairs Center (MAC) of the Army Quartermaster Museum in Fort Lee, "Memorial Affairs Activities - Republic of Vietnam" (March 2000). After processing, the recovered remains were shipped by air to port of entry mortuaries in Oakland, California, and Dover, Delaware. Id. Thus, the evidence corroborates the veteran's presence at military facility which routinely recovered and returned dead soldiers by air cargo. In addition to the above, the Board also finds the veteran's descriptions of witnessing and handling body bags while performing air cargo duties as being credible and consistent with the circumstances of his service. Notably, he first offhandedly described loading and unloading coffins and body bags from transport planes while serving in Vietnam during a March 1985 VA psychiatric examination, wherein he was seeking an answer as to whether his personality changes and symptoms of memory loss were due to Agent Orange exposure. He directly denied combat exposure except for being shot at a few times. There is no indication from this examination report that the veteran was fabricating or exaggerating his Vietnam experiences. There is no subsequent information of record which impeaches the credibility of the veteran on this issue. Although the veteran has not provided a PTSD questionnaire, the Board finds that there is sufficient available evidence to corroborate the veteran's claimed stressor of facilitating the return of dead soldiers while performing air cargo duties at Tan Son Nhut AB. Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran, the Board finds that the veteran's PTSD stressor has been corroborated. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(b); Pentecost, 16 Vet. App. 124 (2002). The appeal, therefore, is granted. This decision does not suggest that all of the veteran's problems are related to his service or to PTSD caused by service. Post-service stressors are clearly indicated in the record. However, such post-service stressors do not suggest that some of the veteran's problem may also be associated with PTSD related to service. The nature and extent of the veteran's PTSD related to service is not before the Board at this time. As provided for by the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA), VA has a duty to notify and assist claimants in substantiating a claim for VA benefits. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5100, 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5107, 5126 (West 2002 & Supp. 2007); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.156(a), 3.159 and 3.326(a) (2007). In this case, the Board is granting in full the benefit sought on appeal. Accordingly, assuming, without deciding, that any error was committed with respect to either the duty to notify or the duty to assist, such error was harmless and will not be further discussed. ORDER Service connection for PTSD is granted. ____________________________________________ JOHN J. CROWLEY Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs