Citation Nr: 20028362 Decision Date: 04/22/20 Archive Date: 04/22/20 DOCKET NO. 14-22 501 DATE: April 22, 2020 REMAND Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death is remanded. REASONS AND BASES FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from February 1968 until February 1970. Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away in October 2012, and the Appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension Management Center (PMC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (hereinafter agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ)). The Appellant claims that the Veteran’s coronary artery disease (CAD) was caused by exposure to Agent Orange during his service in the Korean DMZ. The death certificate shows that the Veteran died of conjunctive heart failure secondary to CAD. In April 2018, the Board remanded the claim for further development. The Board instructed the AOJ to complete appropriate development of the Veteran’s claimed herbicide exposure. The AOJ sent a request to the U.S. Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) Coordinator regarding whether the Veteran was in or near the Korean DMZ during service. A February 2020 Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System (DPRIS) response shows that the evidence of record did not establish that the Veteran was exposed to Agent Orange. The DPRIS response showed that the Veteran’s unit served in South Korea with the main base located at Camp Humphreys and Camp Huston with the headquarters co-located at Osan Air Base. The DPRIS response also did not document the use, storage, spraying, or transportation of herbicides to include Agent Orange in the area of service or document any specific duties performed by members of the Veteran’s unit in the Korean DMZ. Notably, the Veteran’s personnel records reflect that he initially arrived at Kimpo. Also notable, there is no information of record regarding the distance of any of these locations to the DMZ. Subsequent to the Board’s remand, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was enacted into law which expanded the prior definition of presumed herbicide exposure for veterans who served in Korea from April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116B. This law presumes exposures for veterans who “served in or near” the DMZ. The statute instructs that the Secretary may “issue guidance to implement section 1116B of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), before prescribing new regulations under such section.” Pub. L. No. 116-23, § 3(c)(1), 133 Stat. 966, 970 (2019). The Board must defer consideration of the claim at this time pending any further implementation of regulations of guidance and regulations. Accordingly, this matter is REMANDED for the following: 1. The AOJ should determine the Veteran’s distance from Camp Humphreys, Camp Huston, Osan Air Base and Kimpo Airbase to the DMZ. 2. Determine whether the Veteran “served in or near” the DMZ as defined at 38 U.S.C. § 1116B based upon any guidance from the Secretary in implementing section 1116B of title 38, United States Code. 3. Thereafter, readjudicate the claim. if any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, furnish the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and an appropriate period of time to respond. T. MAINELLI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Boyea, Law Clerk 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.