Citation Nr: 21002550
Decision Date: 01/14/21	Archive Date: 01/14/21

DOCKET NO. 16-19 364A
DATE: January 14, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1967 to August 1975. The Veteran passed away in June 2015, and the Appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Appellant testified at a Board videoconference hearing in November 2020 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of         the hearing is of record. 

1. Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded.

The Appellant contends that the Veteran’s fatal coronary artery disease was due to herbicide agent exposure during Vietnam era service. 

Service personnel records show the Veteran was authorized to wear a Vietnam Service Medal for service on U.S.S. Ticonderoga CVS from June 23, 1972 to July 1, 1972 and that the ship operated in the combat zone of Vietnam waters and he was entitled to income tax exemption during that time.

The phrase "service in the Republic of Vietnam" in 38 U.S.C. § 1116 includes the territorial seas of the Republic of Vietnam extending 12 nautical miles from the shores of that nation. See Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019); see also Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (Blue Water Navy Act). Pub. L. No. 116-23, 133 Stat. 966 (2019).

Based on the evidence of record, additional development is needed.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Complete all necessary development to determine whether the Veteran's service aboard the U.S.S. Ticonderoga on or about June 1972 through July       1972 involved being in the the territorial seas of the Republic of Vietnam extending 12 nautical miles from the shores of that nation from June 23, 1972 to July 1, 1972.

 

 

K. A. BANFIELD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.