Citation Nr: 21003045 Decision Date: 01/19/21 Archive Date: 01/19/21 DOCKET NO. 19-13 245 DATE: January 19, 2021 ORDER Service connection for prostate cancer, for purposes of substitution, is granted. Service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, for purposes of substitution, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran served in the capacity of a medical crewmember on C-123 aircraft known to have been utilized to spray agent orange. 2. The Veteran had both prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus type II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for prostate cancer, for purposes of substitution, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5121A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.306(a)(6)(v); 3.309(e). 2. The criteria for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, for purposes of substitution, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5121A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.306(a)(6)(v); 3.309(e). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from September 1967 to October 1974. The Veteran also served on periods of active duty for training and inactive duty for training in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away in March 2016. The appellant is the Veteran’s surviving spouse, and she has been recognized as the substitute claimant pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 5121A. The Board previously denied service connection for prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus type II in a September 2019 decision. The appellant appealed the September 2019 Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in August 2020 the Court issued a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR). In the JMR, the Court vacated the September 2019 Board decision, and remanded the issues to the Board for further proceedings. Service Connection Prostate Cancer and Diabetes Mellitus Type II The Veteran and the appellant asserted that the Veteran served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a medical crew member on a C-123 aircraft that had been used to spray Agent Orange in Vietnam. An individual who served in the Air Force or Air Force Reserve under circumstances in which the individual concerned regularly and repeatedly operated, maintained, or served onboard C-123 aircraft known to have been used to spray an herbicide agent during the Vietnam era shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent. For purposes of this paragraph, “regularly and repeatedly operated, maintained, or served onboard C-123 aircraft” means that the individual was assigned to an Air Force or Air Force Reserve squadron when the squadron was permanently assigned one of the affected aircraft and the individual had an Air Force Specialty Code indicating duties as a flight, ground maintenance, or medical crew member on such aircraft. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(v). VA published a list of Air Force servicemembers who had regular and repeated exposure to contaminated Operation Ranch Hand C-123s, used to spray Agent Orange in Vietnam, as flight, maintenance, or medical crew members. See https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/docs/AO_C123_AFSpecialityCodesUnits.pdf. After a thorough review of the cumulative evidence of record, including corroborating statements and evidence, the Board finds that the evidence supports the conclusion that the Veteran served in the capacity of a medical crewmember on C-123 aircraft known to have been utilized to spray agent orange. The Veteran’s medical record reflects that he had both prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus type II. As both prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus type II are diseases that are associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e), service connection on a presumptive basis is warranted. Accordingly, service connection for both prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus type II, for purposes of substitution, is granted. MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Lutgens-Staley, 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.