Citation Nr: 21069707
Decision Date: 11/19/21	Archive Date: 11/19/21

DOCKET NO. 18-35 763
DATE: November 19, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in Navy from March 1965 to March 1967.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of an August 2017 rating decision issued by a regional office (hereinafter agency of original jurisdiction or AOJ) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  In his June 2018 Form 9 appeal, the Veteran requested a travel Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge, which was scheduled for November 2021.  In October 2021 correspondence, the Veteran, through his representative, elected to withdraw his request for a hearing and have his case adjudicated on the merits.  This case has been advanced on the docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(b)(3).  38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).

1. Entitlement to service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is remanded.

The Veteran asserts that his leukemia is due to his active service, in particular his exposure to herbicide agents.  Private treatment records indicate that the Veteran was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a disease listed as presumptively due to herbicide exposure, in February 2011.  His service records note that he served aboard the US Navy ships U.S.S. Constellation and U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in support of operations in the Republic of Vietnam.  Finally, the proximity of these ships to the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam while the Veteran was aboard is unclear.  As such, remand for further development is required.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Undertake any necessary development to determine whether the Veteran's naval service during the Vietnam era included any presence within the territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam or any similar area identified in the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019.

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If any requested records or relevant information are not available, or the search for any such records or information otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file.  The non-existence or unavailability of such records or information must be verified, and this should be documented for the record.  Required notice must be provided to the appellant and his representative.

 

 

T. MAINELLI

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. C. Schumacher, 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.