Citation Nr: 18144679 Decision Date: 10/25/18 Archive Date: 10/24/18 DOCKET NO. 15-13 646 DATE: October 25, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active military service from April 1969 to August 1990. He died in January 2014. The Appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) located in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Appellant testified before the undersigned at a Board videoconference hearing in August 2018. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded. The Veteran died in January 2014. His death certificate indicates that the immediate cause of death was unknown and the underlying causes were cancer of parotid gland, alcohol abuse, and smoking. The Appellant asserts that service connection is warranted for the cause of the Veteran’s death. She contends that the Veteran’s death was due to his service-connected disabilities. See April 2015 Substantive Appeal (VA Form 9). Subsequently, in testimony provided during the August 2018 Board hearing, she asserted that the disabilities that caused the Veteran’s death were due to asbestos exposure during military service. In an April 2018 lay statement, it was asserted that the Veteran’s cancer of parotid gland was due to Agent Orange exposure during military service. A Veteran who, during active service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era (from January 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975), shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the Veteran was not exposed to any such agent during that service. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f). “Service in the Republic of Vietnam” includes service in the waters offshore and service in other locations if the conditions of service involved duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). VA has validly interpreted the “service in Vietnam” language of the statute and regulation as requiring that a Veteran must have actually been present at some point on the landmass or the inland waters of Vietnam during the Vietnam conflict. See Haas v. Peake, 525 F.3d 1168 (Fed. Cir. 2008). The record currently available to the Board does not show that efforts to verify the Veteran’s service in Vietnam have been made. As detailed herein, the Veteran had active military service from April 1969 to August 1990, which include service during the Vietnam era. In light of the forgoing, the Board finds that remand is necessary to determine if the Veteran may be presumed to have been exposed to herbicides used in Vietnam. Specifically, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) should request that the United States Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC), and any other source(s), as appropriate, research whether the Veteran ever traveled to Vietnam. Any additional action necessary for independent verification of the alleged exposure, to include follow-up action requested by the contacted entity, should be accomplished. If the search for corroborating evidence leads to negative results, the AOJ should notify the Appellant of this fact, explaining the efforts taken, and describing further action (if any) to be taken. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Verify whether all of the Veteran’s service personnel records have been obtained and associated with the claims file. 2. Send a letter to the Appellant and her representative informing the Appellant of the information and evidence necessary to substantiate the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death based on claimed exposure to herbicides. The Appellant should be afforded the opportunity to submit evidence that may be sufficient to show an actual in-service injury of herbicide exposure; and the opportunity to submit evidence that may be sufficient to show the purported relationship between herbicide exposure and cancer of parotid gland. 3. Undertake necessary action, to particularly include contacting JSRRC, and any other source(s), as appropriate, to attempt to verify the Veteran’s claimed service in Vietnam. Specifically, the JSRRC should research whether the Veteran and/or his unit traveled to Vietnam. Any additional action necessary for independent verification of the Veteran’s claimed service in Vietnam, to include follow-up action requested by the contacted entity, should be accomplished. If the search for corroborating records leads to negative results, notify the Appellant and afford her the opportunity to respond. Also follow up on any additional action suggested by the JSRRC. 4. If the Veteran’s claimed service in Vietnam is verified, obtain an opinion from a suitably qualified VA examiner regarding the cause of the Veteran’s death. Access to records in the Veteran’s electronic claims file should be made available to the examiner for review in connection with his or her opinion. The examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or more) that the Veteran’s cancer of parotid gland was causally or etiologically related to his active service, to include the conceded exposure to Agent Orange. (Continued on the next page)   A rationale must be provided for all opinions rendered. DEBORAH W. SINGLETON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD C. Jones, Counsel