Citation Nr: 21003563 Decision Date: 01/22/21 Archive Date: 01/22/21 DOCKET NO. 14-39 569 DATE: January 22, 2021 ORDER Service connection for prostate cancer is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he was presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during service in the offshore waters of Vietnam. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for prostate cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1965 to July 1968. He died in June 2018. The appellant is his surviving spouse and has been substituted to pursue the service connection claim pending at the time of his death. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2014 rating decisions of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). As a preliminary matter, the appellant’s claims for service connection for a heart condition and esophageal cancer, and for death and indemnity compensation for the cause of death, were remanded in November 2020 Board decisions and are still with the RO for development. These claims will be the subject of future Board decisions if necessary. Regarding the present claim for service connection for prostate cancer, the Veteran testified before a Veterans Law Judge at an March 2018 hearing, and the appellant testified before another Veterans Law Judge at a January 2020 hearing. Accordingly, the matter will now be addressed by a three-Judge panel, which includes both Judges who conducted the Board hearings. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.106. A November 2020 letter offered the appellant the opportunity to have a hearing before the third Judge of the panel, but no response was received within the allotted time. See Arneson v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 379 (2011). Accordingly, the panel will now adjudicate the appeal. Pursuant to development ordered by the Board in November 2020, the RO issued a formal finding that the Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents based on his service in the offshore waters of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. See generally 38 U.S.C. § 1116; Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. (Continued on the next page)   The evidence also establishes that the Veteran had a diagnosis of prostate cancer, which is a disease presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). Therefore, with evidence of prostate cancer connected to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, service connection for prostate cancer is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). K. Parakkal Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals D. Martz Ames Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals TBD To Be Determined Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Davis, 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.