Citation Nr: 20007780 Decision Date: 01/29/20 Archive Date: 01/29/20 DOCKET NO. 14-22 977 DATE: January 29, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is granted. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service. 2. The Veteran’s coronary artery disease is presumed to be related to his in-service herbicide exposure. 3. The Veteran’s diabetes mellitus, type II is presumed to be related to his in-service herbicide exposure. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1116, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1116, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from August 1968 to August 1970. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2012 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In April 2018, the Board denied the Veteran’s claims for service connection for coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II. The Veteran appealed the Board’s denials to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In December 2018, pursuant to a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the Court vacated the Board’s April 2018 denials and remanded the matters to the Board for readjudication in accordance with the JMR. Service Connection The Veteran contends that his coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II are due to in-service herbicide exposure at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Specifically, he contends that his duties placed him at or near the Korean DMZ. See February 2012 Statement and May 2019 Affidavit. Service connection may be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated in active military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). In general, service connection requires competent and credible evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). VA regulations provide that a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971, in a unit that, as determined by the Department of Defense (DOD), operated in or near the Korean DMZ in an area in which herbicides are known to have been applied during that period, 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 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iv). Diabetes mellitus, type II and coronary artery disease will be presumed service-connected if a veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in service, even if there is no record of the disease during service. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). This presumption requires exposure to an herbicide agent and manifestation of the disease to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time after service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(ii). The Board notes that the Veteran’s VA treatment records indicate that he has a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, type II and coronary artery disease. See 2010 VA treatment records. Thus, the first criterion of service connection is satisfied. The Veteran’s military personnel records reveal that he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 42nd Artillery and that he was stationed at Camp Page, South Korea from July 1969 to August 1970. An April 2014 U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) report indicated that Camp Page was approximately six miles from the DMZ. It further indicated that the Veteran’s unit history did not mention or document any specific duties performed by unit members along the DMZ. The Board notes that it is undisputed that the Veteran’s location and time of service in South Korea coincides with the dates recognized by VA policy for presumptive herbicide exposure. However, since the evidentiary record does not establish that the Veteran was assigned to a unit determined by the DOD under 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iv), herbicide exposure must be found on a facts-found basis for the service connection presumption to attach. Based on a review of the evidence of record, to include the Veteran’s military personnel records and statements that his duties placed him at or near the Korean DMZ, the Board resolves reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran and finds that he was exposed to herbicides on a facts-found basis. Accordingly, service connection for coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II is warranted. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990); 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Robinson, Associate 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.