Citation Nr: 21015127 Decision Date: 03/16/21 Archive Date: 03/16/21 DOCKET NO. 17-61 377 DATE: March 16, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for type II diabetes mellitus (DM) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has a current diagnosis of DM and was exposed to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for DM are met. 38 U.S.C. § 1110, 1131, 1112, 1113, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(b), 3.307, 3.309(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1973 to April 1976. The Veteran appeals a July 2015 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) hearing was held in January 2021. A transcript is of record. A veteran is entitled to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an 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 or aggravated during service, the so-called “nexus” requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). A veteran who during active military, naval, or air service served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence establishing that the Veteran was not exposed to any such agent. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f) 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). In order to benefit from the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with herbicide agent exposure, the Veteran must have one of the diseases enumerated in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e), which includes DM. The Veteran has DM. See July 2015 VA treatment records. The Veteran contends he was exposed to herbicide agents. See December 2014 VA Form 21-526EZ. The Veteran stated that he regularly flew to Vietnam on cargo missions and that he would stop in places like Hawaii and Guam while in route to Vietnam. See November 2017 VA Form 9; January 2021 Board hearing tr. at 3-4. Service personnel records (SPRs) indicated that the Veteran served as an aircraft loadmaster at McChord Air Force Base (AFB) and there was noted presence in the Philippines. SPRs also specify various periods of active duty service and several flights on a C-141 aircraft. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) noted 700 hours as a loadmaster in a C-141 aircraft. See November 1974 STRs. DPRIS correspondence indicated that the Veteran was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal, that he may have had combat service, that his group provided necessary augmentation in the form of aircrews, maintenance, and aerial port operations with a sharp increase in airlift to Southeast Asia, and that Reserve crews provided a surge augmentation to help meet airlift commitments. A May 2016 sibling statement noted the Veteran flew to Vietnam during service. The Veteran’s father stated that he served with the Veteran at McChord AFB and flew together on several occasions to Vietnam with the Veteran. The record indicates that the Veteran’s father served in Vietnam. A December 2017 statement by a fellow service member noted that C-141 aircraft flew to places as the Philippines from McChord AFB and then continued to Vietnam. Overall, evidence demonstrates the Veteran had several flights on a C-141 aircraft during the early 1970s and that he was at least present in the Philippines. Competent lay statements of record indicated that aircraft and various units from McChord AFB frequently flew into Vietnam for various cargo missions. The Board finds these statements credible. This was verified by the DPRIS response. Additionally, the Veteran’s father stated that he served with the Veteran at McChord AFB, flew missions with the Veteran to Vietnam, and the Veteran’s father has noted Vietnam service. There is no affirmative evidence to the contrary that the Veteran did not have service in Vietnam. As such, for purposes of this opinion only, the Board finds that the Veteran had service in Vietnam on a facts found basis during the presumptive period. Therefore, exposure to herbicide agents is presumed. (Continued on the next page)   Because the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service and has DM, service connection is presumed, and the claim is granted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, 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.