Citation Nr: 18140938
Decision Date: 10/09/18	Archive Date: 10/09/18

DOCKET NO. 16-27 564
DATE:	October 9, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran served in Vietnam (in the waters offshore) during the Vietnam Era and developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma manifested subsequent to such service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for entitlement to service connection for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma have been met.  38 U.S.C. § 1110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.313 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from September 1971 to June 1973 and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon.
The Veteran filed a March 2015 claim for entitlement to service connection for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  38 C.F.R. § 3.313 states:
(a) Service in Vietnam. Service in Vietnam includes service in the waters offshore, or service in other locations if the conditions of service involved duty or visitation in Vietnam.
(b) Service connection based on service in Vietnam. Service in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era together with the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma manifested subsequent to such service is sufficient to establish service connection for that disease.
In addition, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stated in Haas v. Peake, 525 F.3d 1168 (Fed. Cir. 2008) that “[t]he government does not dispute that the 1990 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma regulation [38 C.F.R. § 3.313], which is still in effect, applies to veterans who served ‘offshore’ and never visited the landmass of Vietnam” and that “in 1993 the []VA issued a General Counsel opinion [VAOGCPREC 7-1993 (Aug. 12, 1993)] in which the agency explicitly stated that the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma regulation [38 C.F.R. § 3.313] covers servicemembers who served in the waters off the shore of Vietnam.”
The evidence of record indicated that the Veteran was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as contemplated by 38 C.F.R. § 3.313.  In this regard, the most recent VA treatment records of record from April 2015 stated that the Veteran was “with a newly diagnosed Burkitt’s lymphoma.”  Burkitt’s lymphoma is considered a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  See Burkitt lymphoma, U.S. National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus, https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001308.htm (last visited October 3, 2018) (defining Burkitt lymphoma as “a very fast growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma”).




The evidence of record also indicated that the Veteran had service in Vietnam as contemplated by 38 C.F.R. § 3.313.  As noted, 38 C.F.R. § 3.313 states that “[s]ervice in Vietnam includes service in the waters offshore.”  The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) noted that he served on the USS Charles P. Cecil (DD 835) from September 1971 to May 1973.  The Veteran’s service personnel records included a July 1972 note that referenced the Veteran as serving on board the USS Charles P. Cecil (DD 835) in May, June and July 1972 and stated that the Veteran was “[e]ntitled to Income Tax Exclusion and non-withholding for three months duty in a combat zone, having served in Vietnam waters in the prescribed limits during the months of May, June and July 1972.”  The Veteran also submitted a copy of a July 1972 “family-gram” from the Commanding Officer of the USS Charles P. Cecil (DD 835) that stated that “[t]he crew and the ship have c[o]me through the past two months in Vietnamese waters.”  As such, the Veteran had service in Vietnam as contemplated by 38 C.F.R. § 3.313.
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In sum, the Board finds that the Veteran served in Vietnam (in the waters offshore) during the Vietnam Era and developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma manifested subsequent to such service.  When both of these requirements are met, 38 C.F.R. § 3.313 states that this “is sufficient to establish service connection for” non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  As such, the Board concludes that the criteria for entitlement to service connection for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma have been met and the Veteran’s claim is therefore granted.  38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.313.
 
J.W. FRANCIS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	S. Hoopengardner, Counsel