Citation Nr: 18147898
Decision Date: 11/06/18	Archive Date: 11/06/18

DOCKET NO. 16-42 602
DATE:	November 6, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, as due to herbicide exposure, is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran was exposed to herbicides during active service and his diagnosed prostate cancer is presumed related to that exposure.  
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Prostate cancer is presumed to have been incurred in active service.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active naval service from May 1969 to December 1971.  
This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Des Moines, Iowa.     
The Veteran asserts that he has prostate cancer that is due to herbicide exposure while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.  
The Veteran’s service personnel records show that he was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Lipan, and that he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal.  The Veteran reported that the U.S.S. Lipan was stationed offshore of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.   In November 2017, the Veteran reported that he went ashore at Cam Ray Bay for 5 days in August 1970 while waiting for a flight to the United States.  The Veteran also provided a copy of his corresponding liberty pass.   
The Board has not found evidence to suggest that the Veteran’s report that he went ashore in the Republic of Vietnam is anything other than credible, and it appears to be consistent with his military occupational specialty (MOS).  Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran went ashore to the Republic of Vietnam and is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides.  
A review of the record shows that the Veteran has a diagnosis of prostate cancer during the period on appeal.  Given that prostate cancer is a disease that is presumed related to herbicide exposure, service connection is warranted on this basis.  38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990).
 
Kristin Haddock
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	C. O’Donnell, Associate Counsel