Citation Nr: 21002843 Decision Date: 01/15/21 Archive Date: 01/15/21 DOCKET NO. 18-19 632 DATE: January 15, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is granted. Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease (IHD), to include coronary artery disease, as due to herbicide exposure, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran served aboard the U.S.S. Lipan, which served in the coastal waters of Vietnam. 2. The Veteran has a post-service diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. 3. The Veteran has a post-service diagnosis of IHD to include coronary artery disease. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for Parkinson’s disease have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for service connection for IHD, to include coronary artery disease, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from March 1961 to June 1965. As discussed below, the Veteran’s service includes service in the coastal waters of the Republic of Vietnam This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2017 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Phoenix, Arizona. This appeal has been advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a current disability arising from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d) (2018). Service connection generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). A veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, 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. The last date on which such a veteran shall be presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent shall be the last date on which he or she served in Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962 and ending on May 7, 1975. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). Diseases presumptively associated with such exposure include Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease including coronary artery disease. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). In Procopio v. Wilkie, decided January 29, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that by using the formal term “Republic of Vietnam” in the Agent Orange Act, 38 U.S.C. § 1116, Congress unambiguously referred, consistent with uniform international law, to both its landmass and its 12 nautical mile territorial sea. The Federal Circuit concluded that veterans who served in the 12-mile nautical territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam are entitled to presumptive service connection under 38 U.S.C. § 1116 for a disease listed there if they meet the other requirements of the statute. Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371, 1380-81 (Fed. Cir 2019) (en banc). Congress has enacted the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (Blue Water Navy Act). Pub. L. No. 116-23, 133 Stat. 966 (2019). The Blue Water Navy Act is effective date January 1, 2020. The stated main purpose of this Act was “to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.” See Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, Pub. L. No. 116-23, 133 Stat. 966 (2019), Synopsis. The Blue Water Navy Act defines service “offshore of the Republic of Vietnam” as encompassing service in the territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles from the shores both of that nation and of Cambodia. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116A (d) (2019). It provides that the 12 miles are measured seaward of a line commencing on the southwestern demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia an intersecting at certain points (latitude North, longitude East); these are set out in a Points Geographic table included there. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116A (d). A veteran’s service must take place during the period January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975. 38 U.S.C. § 1116A (a). The Veteran does not claim to have had “boots on the ground” in the Republic of Vietnam, but instead contends that his ship, the U.S.S. Lipan (ATF-85), was in Vietnam. He claims that he was exposed to herbicides during duty on that ship. The Veteran’s service personnel and medical records indicate that he served as a member of the United States Navy on the U.S.S. Lipan from December 5, 1964, to December 19, 1964, and from 23, 1964 to May 17, 1965. The Veteran was also noted to be eligible for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Viet Nam due to service from March 12, to April 11, 1965. A review of the deck logs of the U.S.S. Lipan from March and April 1965 indicate the ship was in the coastal waters of Vietnam. Specifically, on March 31, 1965, the deck logs indicate that the U.S.S. Lipan was anchored in Danang, Republic of Vietnam. Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran’s ship, the U.S.S. Lipan was within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam, and the Veteran is presumed exposed to herbicides. 1. Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease, to include as due to herbicide exposure At the outset, there is ample evidence of record showing that the Veteran is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Specifically, the Veteran’s VA treatment records note a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease status post DBS. Therefore, resolution of the issue on appeal turns on whether the Veteran is determined to have been exposed to herbicides in service. As discussed above, the Board finds that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides in service. Therefore, considering the evidence showing exposure to herbicides during service, and a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, which is a disease that has been associated with herbicide exposure, service connection is warranted for this disorder. 2. Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease, to include coronary artery disease, as due to herbicide exposure, At the outset, there is ample evidence of record showing that the Veteran is diagnosed with ischemic heart disease to include coronary artery disease. Specifically, the Veteran’s VA treatment records indicate a diagnosis of coronary artery disease following a myocardial infarction in 1994. Therefore, resolution of the issue on appeal turns on whether the Veteran is determined to have been exposed to herbicides in service. As discussed above, the Board finds that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides in service. Therefore, considering the evidence showing exposure to herbicides during service, and a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, which is a disease that has been associated with herbicide exposure, service connection is warranted for this disorder. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M.D. Taylor, 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.