Citation Nr: 18157469 Decision Date: 12/13/18 Archive Date: 12/12/18 DOCKET NO. 16-35 133A DATE: December 13, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson’s disease is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran served on the ground in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era and as such, is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides. 2. Parkinson’s disease is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides in active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for Parkinson’s disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active air service from August 1969 to August 1973, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Oakland, California. Service Connection – Parkinson’s Disease The Veteran has asserted that his current diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is due to exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Thailand between February 1971 and February 1972, or in the alternative, that he was exposed to herbicides during a layover at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam on his journey to Thailand. Of record is an October 2014 lay statement submitted by the Veteran. In that letter, the Veteran stated that in February 1971, he received orders transferring him from Castle Air Force Base (AFB) in California to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB). He stated he was originally scheduled to leave February 9, 1971, but was delayed due to a large earthquake in southern California. Due to that delay, he was 12 hours late, and was sent on a charter plane headed for Saigon in the Republic of Vietnam. He stated he arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam, and spent several hours in the transient area looking for the plane that would eventually take him to Don Muang, Thailand. The Veteran stated he spent several hours on the ground at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. At various times, the Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System (DPRIS) was used in an effort to verify the Veteran’s presence in the Republic of Vietnam. However, a December 2017 DPRIS response was unable to confirm that the Veteran had a layover at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Upon consideration of the Veteran’s statements, and the evidence of record; and, even though the official military personnel records did not verify that the Veteran’s travel to Thailand was delayed and that he was sent to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, the Board finds the Veteran’s statements regarding his layover in the Republic of Vietnam to be credible evidence because they are consistent with the circumstances of his service, the historical documentation of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the common route for military personnel traveling from California to Thailand. Further, the Veteran has not overly embellished his account and has provided anecdotal evidence of his presence on the ground in the Republic of Vietnam that the Board finds highly persuasive. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran is competent to describe his military service and finds his statements regarding his time spent on the ground in the Republic of Vietnam to be credible. Therefore, his exposure to herbicide agents during service is presumed. A review of the record shows that the Veteran was diagnosed Parkinson’s disease in September 2009. Parkinson’s disease is a disease enumerated for purposes of presumptive service connection due to exposure to herbicide agents. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e) (2018). Accordingly, the Board finds that the evidence for and against the claim of entitlement to service connection for Parkinson’s disease is at least in equipoise. Therefore, reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran and entitlement to service connection for Parkinson’s disease is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b) (2012); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Kristin Haddock Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Mariah N. Sim, Associate Counsel