Citation Nr: 1007304	
Decision Date: 02/26/10    Archive Date: 03/05/10

DOCKET NO.  03-08 554A	)	DATE
	)
	)




On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in San Diego, 
California




THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus due 
to exposure to Agent Orange. 




ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. Sorisio, Counsel




INTRODUCTION

The Veteran, who is the appellant, served on active duty from 
August 1959 to August 1963.  

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) 
on appeal of a rating decision in June 2002 of a Department 
of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In October 2007, the Board remanded the claim for further 
development.

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management 
Center in Washington, DC.  


REMAND

In October 2007, the Board requested the Veteran's unit 
histories and lessons learned from the Federal custodian of 
records of the United States Marine Corps.  In January 2008, 
the RO received a response from the National Personnel 
Records Center that unit histories, including staff daily 
journals, after action reports, and operational reports and 
lessons learned were not maintained there.

The record contains declassified documents from May and June 
1962 that show that the Veteran's unit was stationed in 
Thailand and that it conducted daily patrols along the Mekong 
River from Laos to the Thai-Cambodian border.  The Veteran 
has alleged that his missions along the Mekong extended into 
Vietnam.  

Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2), VA will make as many requests 
as necessary to obtain relevant records held by a Federal 
agency, unless it is determined that the records do not exist 
or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile.


Under Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998), a remand 
is necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's 
directives.

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Request from the appropriate 
Federal custodian of records of the 
United States Marine Corps the unit 
history and lessons learned of 
Headquarter and Service Company, 3rd 
Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine 
Division, for the deployment of Marines 
in Thailand from May 1962 to August 
1962 and whether there is a record that 
elements of the company were sent to 
the Republic of South Vietnam. 

2. After the above development is 
completed, adjudicate the claim.  If 
the benefit sought on appeal remains 
denied, furnish the Veteran a 
supplemental statement of the case and 
return the case to the Board.

The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and 
argument on the matter the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky 
v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment.  The law 
requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board for 
additional development or other appropriate action must be 
handled in an expeditious manner.  38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 
(West Supp. 2009).



_________________________________________________
George E. Guido Jr.
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the 
Board is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for 
Veterans Claims.  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.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) 
(2009).