Citation Nr: 21072241 Decision Date: 12/02/21 Archive Date: 12/02/21 DOCKET NO. 17-13 408 DATE: December 2, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, to include as a result of herbicide exposure, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a cataract disability, secondary to diabetes mellitus, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for cystic disease of the kidneys, secondary to diabetes mellitus, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1966 to December 1968. This matter came before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veteran's Law Judge during an April 2019 hearing. The transcript of the hearing is of record. A June 2019 Board decision denied service connection for diabetes mellitus as well as service connection for a cataract disability and service connection for cystic kidney disease. The Veteran appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ("the Court"). In a March 2021 Memorandum Decision, the Court vacated and remanded the Board's June 2019 decision. 1. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, to include as a result of herbicide exposure The Veteran contends that his diabetes is due to herbicide exposure during his service in Korea near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). At the April 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that, during a patrol near the DMZ, he was exposed to herbicides when a plane flew overhead and dispersed Agent Orange. The Board finds that, given the Veteran's April 2019 testimony, remand to obtain the Veteran's unit history records is required. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a cataract disability, secondary to diabetes mellitus 3. Entitlement to service connection for cystic disease of the kidneys, secondary to diabetes mellitus The Veteran contends that his cataract and kidney disabilities are secondary to his diabetes. The issues must therefore be remanded as they are inextricably intertwined with the issue of service connection for diabetes mellitus. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (two issues are "inextricably intertwined" when the adjudication of one issue could have "significant impact" on the other issue). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request the Veteran's unit history records for his service in the 7th Battalion, 2nd Artillery, United States Army Pacific in Korea from May 1967 to June 1968, from all appropriate sources in an attempt to confirm the Veteran's contentions that a plane flew over the unit dispensing Agent Orange while on patrol near the DMZ. Make as many requests as necessary to obtain the records. 2. Thereafter, request that Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System (DPIRS), or other official source, investigate and attempt to verify the Veteran's reports of exposure to Agent Orange in the Korean DMZ, specifically that a plane flew over dispensing Agent Orange while on patrol near the DMZ, during his period of active duty in the Army from May 1967 to June 1968. 3. If upon completion of the above action the appeal remains denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Y. Akkad 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.