Citation Nr: 20037050 Decision Date: 06/01/20 Archive Date: 06/01/20 DOCKET NO. 19-34 410 DATE: June 1, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for leukemia, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1965 to December 1966. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2018 rating decision. Upon review, the Board finds that additional development is needed prior to adjudication of the claim. The Veteran has claimed that he developed leukemia as a result of exposure to Agent Orange during his military police service at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Veteran’s service personnel records show that he had service in Korea from August 1965 to December 1966 and that he was assigned to the 18th Military Police (MP) Detachment, 7th Infantry Division. In June 2018 correspondence, the Veteran reported that he served at Camp Casey and at Camp Kaiser on the 38th Parallel of the DMZ. In an April 2019 statement, the Veteran’s representative acknowledged that the Veteran’s period of service occurred before the presumptive time period for veterans operating in or near the Korean DMZ. Thus, he explained that the Veteran was claiming that he had direct exposure to Agent Orange. In his June 2018 letter, the Veteran reported that his barracks were beside a tank motor pool and that, when the motor pool had field training, the MPs went with them to patrol the DMZ and sleep in the field once to twice per month. He stated that there was no vegetation on the training fields, mountains, or on any of the DMZ area that he patrolled. He related that the land was completely barren from herbicide spray. During an April 2019 VA Agent Orange Registry examination, the Veteran stated that he recalled that the entire DMZ area was without foliage when he served at Camp Casey and Camp Kaiser. He also remembered barrels standing in some areas there, which presumably contained herbicides that had been and were being used. In a January 2020 statement, the Veteran indicated that his daily duties at Camp Casey included escorting convoys and that he had direct exposure to defoliated land treated with herbicides. In a March 2020 statement, the Veteran reported that chemicals and herbicides were sprayed all around Camp Kaiser and the DMZ to eliminate plant life, thereby clearing and defoliating the perimeter-fenced terrain. He stated that he travelled by trucks, Jeeps, and on foot into the barren terrain. He also related that the chemicals were stored in barrels approximately 75-feet or less from his barracks in the tank motor pool. The Board notes that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) requested verification from the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) in April 2019. In a July 2019 response, JSRRC reported coordination with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA was unable to locate unit records submitted by the 18th MP Detachment dated from 1965 to 1966. JSRRC researched the available 1965 to 1966 United States Army Station Lists, which document that the 18th MP Detachment was stationed at Dopsu-Dong, Korea. JSRRC stated that the July 1966 to December 1966 chronology submitted by the 8th United States Army did not document the use, storage, spraying, or transporting of Agent Orange or tactical herbicides. The JSRRC noted that the chronology also did not mention or document any specific duties performed by the 18th MP Detachment unit members on the DMZ. However, the response did not address the period from August 1965 to July 1966. Thus, on remand, the AOJ should take further steps to verify the Veteran’s claimed herbicide exposure while he was stationed in Korea. In remanding the case, the Board notes that the Veteran’s representative submitted an April 2020 private medical opinion in which a physician opined that the Veteran’s leukemia was highly associated with herbicide exposure. The physician noted that the Veteran claimed exposure to herbicides during the course of his duties as a MP with the 7th Division at the DMZ from 1965 to December 1966. The physician related that the Veteran reported routinely seeing drums of herbicide at Camp Casey, which were typically being stored and transported from the motor pool and applied in the areas surrounding the camp. However, the Board notes that exposure to herbicides has not been established; therefore, the opinion is not sufficient to grant the claim without further development. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should undertake any necessary efforts to verify the Veteran’s claimed herbicide exposure while he was stationed in Korea from August 1965 to December 1966. The Veteran’s service personnel records indicate that he served in the 18th Military Police (MP) Detachment, 7th Infantry Division. Specifically, the Veteran reported that he was exposed to herbicides while serving at Camp Casey and at Camp Kaiser on the 38th Parallel of the DMZ. JSRRC has indicated that the July 1966 to December 1966 chronology submitted by the 8th United States Army did not document the use, storage, spraying, or transporting of Agent Orange or tactical herbicides, but the response did not address the period from August 1965 to July 1966. All attempts and responses should be documented in the claims file. 2. If completion of the foregoing development does not result in a grant of service connection for leukemia on a presumptive basis, the AOJ should consider whether any development is necessary for the claim on a direct basis. J.W. ZISSIMOS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Osegueda, 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.