Citation Nr: 21062927 Decision Date: 10/12/21 Archive Date: 10/12/21 DOCKET NO. 15-42 859 DATE: October 12, 2021 REMANDED The service connection claim for diabetes mellitus, type 2 (diabetes), to include as secondary to exposure to herbicides, including Agent Orange is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from May 1968 to May 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Portland, Oregon. In September 2018, the Veteran and a friend, D.W., testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of this hearing is of record. In May 2019, the Board remanded the case to the Regional Office for further evidentiary development. However, the Board regrets further delay, as additional developments are required before the Board may render a fully-informed decision on this issue on appeal. The Veteran asserts entitlement to service connection for diabetes, as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange during his active service in Okinawa, Japan. See e.g. September 2018 Videoconference Hearing Transcript. In May 2019, the Board remanded this matter for the Regional Office to verify the Veteran's assertions that he was exposed to a herbicide agent during his active service in Okinawa, Japan. Although the Regional Office attempted to verify the Veteran's assertions, however, it did not adequately undertake all possible efforts to verify the information. Specifically, an October 2019 email, responding to the Regional Office's request for a review of the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory of herbicides operations (to determine whether herbicides were used in Okinawa, Japan, as the Veteran claims), indicates that DOD has not identified any location on the island of Okinawa where Agent Orange was used, tested, stored, or transported. At the same time however, this e-mail suggested, in pertinent part, that if additional research is warranted, the Regional Office should contact Virtual VA, C & P Service Stressor Verification Site; the Marine Corps Gray Research Center; or the National Archives Research Association. Subsequently, the Regional Office contacted the Veteran, requesting for additional details about his claimed exposure to Agent Orange in Okinawa. See December 2019 Subsequent Development to the Veteran. In response to this correspondence, the Veteran duly provided the additional, requested information on numerous occasions. See December 2019 Statement in Support of Claim; see also April 2020 Statement in Support of Claim; see too May 2020 Statement in Support of Claim; see too, September 2020 Statement in Support of Claim. Additionally, in support of his claim, the Veteran submitted medical literature about veterans winning cases related to Agent Orange exposure in Japan. See May 2020 Correspondence. After the Veteran provided additional information in December 2019, the Regional Office dispatched a letter to the National Archives Records Administration, requesting for a verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure. As the Regional Office did not receive a response, it followed up with a second request for this information in April 2020, with another, third request dispatched to this agency in April 2020, fourth and fifth requests dispatched to the agency in June 2020, and a final, sixth request to the Agency in August 2020. Notwithstanding the Veteran's response to the Regional Office's request, on numerous occasions, as indicated above, the Regional Office dispatched numerous correspondences to the Veteran, indicating that it had not received a response to the requested information, in support of his claim. See e.g. June 2020 Subsequent Development Letters; see too, August 2020 Subsequent Development Letters (2). In these correspondences, the Regional Office attached a copy of the correspondence it dispatched to the National Archives, regarding the request for a verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure. In a September 2020 formal finding, the Regional Office prematurely concluded that it has determined that VA lacks the information the National Archives requires to verify herbicides exposure in Okinawa, Japan, and that the efforts it made to obtain the information is required includes, in pertinent part, an e-mail to DOD Inventory Agent Orange Operations in October 2019; a development to the Veteran requesting for additional information; a request to the National Archives, with numerous follow-up requests; and a receipt of October and November 1969 Unit Logs with no documentation of the Veteran's claimed Agent Orange exposure. Nonetheless, there is no indication, nor did the Regional Office suggest, that it made any attempts to contact the other two sources for a verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure to Agent Orange in Okinawa, Japan, namely, Virtual VA, C & P Service Stressor Verification Site and the Marine Corps Gray Research Center. Thus, as the Regional Office has not adequately undertaken all possible efforts to verify the Veteran's claimed exposure, a remand is required for the Regional Office to contact the two other sources, for a verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure in Okinawa, Japan. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Follow up with the Marine Corps Gray Research Center, as well as the Virtual VA, C & P Service Stressor Verification Site, at the addressed provided in the October 2019 E-mail, to verify the Veteran's claimed exposure to Agent Orange in Okinawa, Japan. 2. To the extent possible, provide all evidence the Veteran's submitted, in support of his claim, to include, among other evidence, the article on cases regarding Agent Orange exposure in Japan, which VA received in May 2020. 3. All attempts to undertake the above-mentioned development, including the mandatory responses to the requests, must be documented in the claims file. 4. If, after making as many requests as are necessary to verify this information it is determined that the requested information could not be verified or additional efforts to verify this information would be futile, the Regional Office must issue a Formal Finding on the inability to verify the information. M. Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board V-N. Pratt 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.