Citation Nr: 21011605 Decision Date: 03/02/21 Archive Date: 03/02/21 DOCKET NO. 16-53 613A DATE: March 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for atrial fibrillation is dismissed. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease is remanded. FINDING OF FACT During his September 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran withdrew his claim for entitlement to service connection for atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of entitlement to service connection for atrial fibrillation by the appellant have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(2), (d)(5); 38 C.F.R. § 20.204. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1965 to November 1968. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from March 2015 and February 2017 rating decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In September 2020, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the transcript is associated with the evidentiary record. Entitlement to service connection for atrial fibrillation. An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. 38 C.F.R. § 20.204. Withdrawal may be made by the Veteran or by his or her authorized representative. 38 C.F.R. § 20.204. During his September 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran withdrew his claim for entitlement to service connection for atrial fibrillation. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the appeal of this issue, and it is dismissed. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease is remanded. The Veteran contends that his Parkinson’s disease is due to Agent Orange exposure during active service. Specifically, during the September 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran reported that during active service in the Navy, he was aboard the ship USS Roosevelt, and that in January 1967, while aboard the vessel, the ship was approximately 5 nautical miles from Vietnam’s shoreline. See September 2020 Hearing Transcript. He testified that in January 1967, the ship diverted from its regular path to avoid artillery fire and was approximately 5 nautical miles from Vietnam’s shoreline. The Veteran further testified that he was personally told by a person qualified in determining nautical miles that the ship was within 12 nautical miles of the Vietnamese shoreline. In a December 2020 buddy statement, another veteran stated that he served on the USS Roosevelt from August 1966 to January 1967 and that in late 1966 or early 1967, while abord USS Roosevelt, he was able to see villagers on the shore from his binoculars. Further, in the September 2020 transcript, the Veteran stated that log books in 1966 were signed by Captain Talley but that he was replaced after he steered the USS Roosevelt too close to the shore in January 1967 and that log books beginning in February 1967 were signed by another captain. A review of his military personnel records confirms that he served aboard USS Roosevelt and his DD-214 shows he received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and Vietnam campaign medal. If the veteran can establish certain elements, he or she need not prove actual exposure to an herbicide while serving in Vietnam. In order for this presumption to apply, the veteran must establish (1) that he or she has one of the diseases listed in § 3.309(e), and (2) that he or she “served in the Republic of Vietnam” between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. 38 U.S.C.§ 1116(a)(1), 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6)(iii), 3.309(e). “Service in the Republic of Vietnam” in this context has a special meaning. In light of the recent holding in Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019), which construes the statutory term “service in the Republic of Vietnam” to include service in the territorial sea of that nation, within 12 nautical miles from shoreline, the Board finds a remand is warranted to obtain any records, including any additional service personnel records (SPRs) or other official documents showing the Veteran’s ship assignments and dates and ship deck logs noting the location of USS Roosevelt, from 1966 through January 1967. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Per Procopio, request from the appropriate repository, copies of the deck logs and or command histories for USS Roosevelt, and any additional service personnel records, for the time periods of 1966 through 1967, to attempt to verify the locations of the ship while the Veteran served on the ship in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam within 12 nautical miles from the shoreline. If any such records are unavailable, a formal finding of unavailability should be made and associated with the claims file. S. HENEKS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Hammad Rasul, 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.