Citation Nr: 21021777 Decision Date: 04/14/21 Archive Date: 04/14/21 DOCKET NO. 15-38 142 DATE: April 14, 2021 ORDER Service connection for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals, claimed as the result of herbicide agent exposure, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents while aboard the USS Intrepid in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam. 2. Coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals was diagnosed following active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals presumed due to herbicide agent exposure have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1116, 1116A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from November 1967 to October 1971. Service Connection The Veteran asserts that service connection for ischemic heart disease is warranted as he is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents while aboard the USS Intrepid when the vessel was in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam. Service connection may be established for a disability arising from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110, 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Where a veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during active service, and ischemic heart disease, to include coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction residuals, becomes manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time after service, service connection shall be established for such disability if the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6) are met even though there is no record of that disease during service, provided that the rebuttable presumption provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(d) are also satisfied. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). A veteran who, during active service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on 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 to establish that the veteran was not exposed to any such agent during that service. The last date on which that veteran shall be presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent shall be the last date on which he or she served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). Service in the Republic of Vietnam includes service within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam. 38 U.S.C. § 1116A. The service personnel records show that he served aboard the USS Intrepid from September 1968 to October 1971. A May 2013 written statement from the National Personnel Record Center reports that the USS Intrepid was in the official waters of the Republic of Vietnam from “11 July 68 to 12 July 68, 14 July 68 to 15 July 68, 23 July 68 to 22 August 68, 14 October 68 to 14 November 68, and 03 December 68 to 27 December 68.” VA clinical documentation dated in February 2014 states that the Veteran was diagnosed with coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) finds that the Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents while in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam and subsequently manifested coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals following service separation. Therefore, the Board concludes that service connection for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction residuals is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. J. T. HUTCHESON Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M.E. Lee 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.