Citation Nr: 21076302 Decision Date: 12/23/21 Archive Date: 12/23/21 DOCKET NO. 17-61 458 DATE: December 23, 2021 ORDER Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran died in March 2014. 2. The cause of the Veteran's death was stroke; metastatic prostate cancer and heart failure were significant conditions that contributed to the cause of death. 3. The Veteran served at the Royal Thai Air Base in Takhli, Thailand, from March 1966 to January 1967, so exposure to herbicide agent is presumed. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving reasonable doubt in the appellant's favor, the criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 1310, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1963 to January 1967. The appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2014 rating decision from the Regional Office (RO), which denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. Service Connection for Cause of Death is Granted. The appellant asserts that service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, prostate cancer and heart failure, is warranted because the Veteran served as a radioman and had service in Thailand from 1966 to 1967 during the Vietnam War. The appellant testified that service duties required the Veteran to travel to the perimeter of Takhli Air Force Base, as he had to pass through the main gate at the perimeter of the base to travel to the workstation, which was located about five miles from the base. The appellant also asserts that the Veteran's workstation was heavily defoliated to ensure effective communication and for safety purposes to allow a view of potential hostile forces. See September 2021 Board Hearing Transcript. Dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) is payable to the surviving spouse of a veteran if the veteran died from a service-connected disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.5. Service connection may be granted for the cause of a veteran's death if a disorder incurred in or aggravated by service either caused or contributed substantially or materially to the cause of death. To establish service connection for the cause of a veteran's death, competent evidence must link the fatal disease to a period of military service or an already service-connected disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.312; Ruiz v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 352 (1997). In order to establish service connection for the cause of a veteran's death, the evidence must show that a disability incurred in or aggravated by active service was the principal or contributory cause of death. In order to constitute the principal cause of death the service-connected disability must be one of the immediate or underlying causes of death, or be etiologically related to the cause of death. Contributory cause of death is inherently one not related to the principal cause. In order to constitute the contributory cause of death it must be shown that the service-connected disability contributed substantially or materially; that it combined to cause death; that it aided or lent assistance to the production of death. It is not sufficient to show that it casually shared in producing death, but rather it must be shown that there was a causal connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312; Lathan v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 359 (1995); see also Gabrielson v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 36, 39 (1994). 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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, service connection for a disability requires evidence of: (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 in or aggravated by service. In order to establish presumptive service connection for a disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that a veteran was not exposed to any such agent during that service, the Veteran must show the following: (1) that he served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; (2) that he suffered from a disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents enumerated under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e); and (3) that the disease process manifested to a degree of 10 percent or more within the specified time period prescribed in section 3.307(a)(6)(ii). 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active service, presumptive service connection is warranted for several medical conditions. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). "Service in the Republic of Vietnam" includes service in the waters offshore and service in other locations if the conditions of service involved duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). In order to establish qualifying "service in Vietnam," a veteran must demonstrate actual duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam. Additionally, VA's Compensation & Pension Service (C&P) has issued information concerning the use of herbicides in Thailand during the Vietnam War and determined that special consideration of herbicide exposure on a factual basis should be extended to veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases during the period beginning on January 9, 1962 and ending on May 8, 1975. VA identifies several Royal Thai Air Force Bases (RTAFBs) in Thailand, including U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang, and herbicide exposure should be acknowledged on a facts found or direct basis if a United States Air Force veteran served at one of the RTAFBs as a security policeman, a security patrol dog handler, a member of a security police squadron, or otherwise served near the air base perimeter, as shown by evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence. Prostate cancer is a disease presumptively associated with herbicide exposure. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). The Veteran died in March 2014. The death certificate lists the prostate cancer as a significant contributory condition of death. See September 2007 Death Certificate. The Board finds the evidence of record is at least in equipoise as to the question of whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service. The DD Form 214 and service personnel records reflect that the Veteran's military occupational specialty was a telecommunication system specialist, he was a recipient of the Vietnam Service Medal, and he was stationed at the RTAFB in Takhli, Thailand, from September 1967 to September 1968, during which he served as a radio repairman. In August 2021 lay statements, a service member who also served in the same unit as the Veteran, the 1980 Communication Squadron at the Takhli Air Force Base, noted that the Veteran's duties required him to pass through the perimeter of the base to travel to his remote workstation at Hill 260, where he maintained and inventoried communications equipment. The service member noted that the perimeter of the base as well as the Veteran's workstation required the killing of vegetation to keep the areas visible as well as for security reasons. As such, considering all the evidence of record, and resolving reasonable doubt in the appellant's favor, the Board finds that the Veteran's duties as a telecommunications systems specialist while stationed at the RTAFB in Takhli, Thailand, placed the Veteran near the perimeter of the base and resulted in exposure to herbicide agents. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a). Because prostate cancer is presumptively associated with herbicide agent exposure, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, prostate cancer, as a result of herbicide exposure is warranted on a presumptive basis. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.309, 3.312. Resolving reasonable doubt in the appellant's favor, the Board finds that service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. J. PARKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Moore, Shanna 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.