Citation Nr: 18147858 Decision Date: 11/06/18 Archive Date: 11/06/18 DOCKET NO. 15-00 700A DATE: November 6, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have active wartime service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for nonservice-connected pension benefits have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1501, 1521; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2, 3.3, 3.102. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1978 to January 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2013 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension Management Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In November 2016, the Board remanded this matter for further development. That development having been completed, this matter has returned to the Board for further appellate review. Pursuant to the Board’s November 2016 remand, the Veteran was scheduled for a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) on October 30, 2018. As the Veteran failed to attend the scheduled Board hearing, and has presented neither a postponement request nor good cause for her failure to appear, the hearing request is deemed withdrawn. 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(d). Entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits Under VA regulations, the payment of nonservice-connected pension benefits is provided to veterans who are permanently and totally disabled from a nonservice-connected disability, which is not the result of willful misconduct, but only where the Veteran has the requisite active military service during a “wartime” period. 38 U.S.C. § 1521(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.3, 3.314(b). A veteran meets the service requirements of this section if the veteran served in active military, naval, or air service (1) for 90 days or more during a period of war; (2) during a period of war and was discharged or released from that service for a service-connected disability; (3) for a period of 90 consecutive days or more and the period began or ended during a period of war; or (4) for an aggregate of 90 days or more in two or more separate periods of service during more than one period of war. 38 U.S.C. § 1521(j). VA’s determination of whether a claimant’s service meets the threshold statutory requirements usually is dependent upon service department records verifying the character of a claimant’s service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.203; Duro v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 530 (1992). The qualifying periods of war are the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, and the Persian Gulf War. 38 U.S.C. § 101; 38 C.F.R. § 3.3(a)(3). The Vietnam era is the period beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975, in the case of a Veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period; and in all other cases, the period beginning on August 5, 1964, and ending on May 7, 1975. 38 U.S.C. § 101(29); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(f). The Persian Gulf War is the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on a date to be prescribed by Presidential proclamation or law. See 38 U.S.C. § 101(33); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(i). The Veteran’s personnel records, including her DD Form 214, confirm that she served on active duty from August 1978 to January 1980. Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.2, the Veteran did not serve during a period of war. Specifically, the Veteran did not begin active service until after the conclusion of the wartime period for the Vietnam era and her active service ended over 10 years before the start of the Persian Gulf War. Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran does not have the requisite wartime service to warrant eligibility for nonservice-connected pension benefits. The Board is sympathetic to the Veteran’s claim and is appreciative of her service, but the basic eligibility requirements for nonservice-connected pension benefits have not been met. As such, the Veteran’s appeal must be denied as a matter of law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426 (1994). P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. M. Stedman, Associate Counsel