Citation Nr: 21062533 Decision Date: 10/07/21 Archive Date: 10/07/21 DOCKET NO. 17-50 239A DATE: October 7, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. FINDING OF FACT Resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, he was exposed to herbicide agents during his period of active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a), 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1965 to November 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions dated in May 2015 and August 2016 of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) during a July 2021 videoconference hearing. A transcript of that hearing is associated with the claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia Under the relevant laws and regulations, service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Generally, the evidence must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 505 (1995). VA laws and regulation also provide that a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam war (i.e., January 9, 1962, to May 7, 1975), shall be presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(3); 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent (to include Agent Orange) during active service, certain enumerated diseases will be presumed to have been incurred in service if manifest to a compensable degree within specified periods, even if there is no record of such disease during service. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is on the presumptive disease list. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). Except as otherwise provided by law, a claimant has the responsibility to present and support a claim for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary. The Secretary shall consider all information and lay and medical evidence of record in a case before the Secretary with respect to benefits under laws administered by the Secretary. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; see also Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990). The Veteran's service personnel records show that he served aboard the USS Sacramento. The Veteran asserts that while serving on the ship in the offshore waters of Vietnam, he participated in multiple vertical replenishment missions which took him to bases in Vietnam by helicopter. He further described sea, air, and land rescue missions, including transporting wounded troops from Vietnam to hospital ships. Unfortunately, the service records do not clearly show that the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam. Further, a May 2015 VA Memorandum indicates that the Joint Services Records Research Center Coordinator was unable to corroborate the Veteran's claimed exposure to herbicides. Importantly, the Board points out that there is no requirement that exposure to herbicide agents be definitively shown by personnel records. In relevant part, 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a) requires that VA give due consideration to all pertinent medical and lay evidence in evaluating a claim for disability benefits. Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). In this regard, the Veteran submitted a buddy statement from P.P. dated in May 2016 indicating that he recalled a time when his helicopter made an emergency landing in Vietnam and the Veteran was on a second helicopter with a mechanic who came to their rescue. A May 2016 statement from R.S. notes that he and the Veteran served on helicopters during vertical replenishment missions to posts in Vietnam. A final statement from C.C. dated in May 2016 indicates that the Veteran was frequently sent on vertical replenishment operations by helicopter to several cities in Vietnam. A January 2017 report from the Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System (DPRIS) states that the USS Sacramento conducted replenishment operations in support of fleet units operating in the northern Gulf of Tonkin and was not in Vietnamese waters. However, in June 1966, a helicopter was reported en route to Da Nang Air Base from the ship, but no names or passengers were recorded. There were additional helicopters recorded as arriving and departing, some with no destinations or point of origins recorded. After a review of the above, the Board finds that the Veteran has presented credible and consistent statements indicating that, as part of his military duties, he was flown to Vietnam by helicopter to provide support. There is no explicit evidence to contradict his reports. Indeed, the Veteran's statements are supported by the correspondence from fellow servicemembers and the DPRIS report indicating that at least one helicopter flew from the USS Sacramento into Da Nang during the time the Veteran served on the ship. Accordingly, and affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the Board concedes herbicide agent exposure. VA treatment records show that the Veteran has been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Therefore, as exposure to herbicide agents is conceded and the Veteran has been diagnosed with a disease for which VA has found an association with herbicide agent exposure, service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is granted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. During the July 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified that his PTSD symptomatology worsened since his most recent VA examination in June 2016. Specifically, the Veteran reported increased incidences of anger, difficulty being in crowds, and exaggerated startle response to loud noises. Accordingly, the Board finds that VA's duty to assist necessitates that this claim be remanded to obtain a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected PTSD. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD. The claims folder, to include a copy of this remand, must be available to and reviewed by the examiner as part of the examination. All indicated tests and studies should be completed. CAROLINE B. FLEMING Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Connor, 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.