Citation Nr: 20002869
Decision Date: 01/14/20	Archive Date: 01/14/20

DOCKET NO. 14-41 826
REMANDED

Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active duty service from December 1959 to January 1969. He died in March 2013 and the Appellant is his surviving spouse.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Appellant testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in February 2018. A transcript is of record. The claim was remanded by the Board in July 2018 for additional development.

1. Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

A recent case held that service in the Republic of Vietnam under 38 U.S.C. § 1116 includes service aboard ships that entered the 12-nautical mile territorial seas of   the Republic of Vietnam. See Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371. Development is needed to determine whether the U.S.S. Shangri La and/or U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, which are both aircraft carriers, entered Vietnam’s territorial seas at any time   while the Veteran was stationed onboard. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Undertake development to determine whether either the U.S.S. Shangri La and/or U.S.S. Kitty Hawk entered Vietnam’s 12-nautical mile territorial seas at any time while the Veteran was stationed onboard. 

2. If the claim remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case. 

 

K. A. BANFIELD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. Van Wambeke, Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.