Citation Nr: 20032050
Decision Date: 05/06/20	Archive Date: 05/06/20

DOCKET NO. 18-49 589
DATE: May 6, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, as secondary to Agent Orange exposure, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1971 to September 1973; and from March 1981 to February 2003.

This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

1. Entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer, as secondary to Agent Orange exposure is remanded.

It is not in dispute that the Veteran has (or has had) prostate cancer.  Indeed, post-service treatment records document prostate cancer was diagnosed in April 2016.  The Veteran underwent prostate surgery in June 2016.  He continues with urinary incontinence as residuals post-surgery.  As prostate cancer is listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e); the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116 would apply if he is found to have been exposed to Agent Orange during service. 

The Veteran served in the Navy during the Vietnam Era.  The record does not show that he went ashore in Vietnam.  What remains to be determined is whether he was exposed to Agent Orange while serving aboard the USS John King Navy vessel off the coast of Vietnam.  The Veteran’s enlisted performance record places him on the USS John King from January 1973 to September 1973.  See Military Personnel Record pg. 70.  Further he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon.

Further development to determine whether the Navy vessel on which he served entered within the twelve nautical miles of shore territorial waters of Vietnam while he was aboard.  See Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019).

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Perform appropriate development to determine whether the USS John King located within the twelve nautical miles of the territorial sea of Vietnam while the Veteran was aboard.

 

H.M. WALKER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. McPhaull, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.