Citation Nr: 21031397
Decision Date: 05/21/21	Archive Date: 05/21/21

DOCKET NO. 13-31 516
DATE: May 21, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death is remanded.

Entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from October 1963 to July 1966.  He died in August 2007.  The appellant is his surviving spouse.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) and Insurance Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

In August 2016, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  

In September 2017, the Board remanded the appeal for further development.

1. Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death is remanded.

In the September 2017 remand, the Board directed the RO to attempt to verify agent orange and chemical exposure.  Notably, his personnel records reflect that he served in a unit that operated in or on the Korean DMZ beginning in August 1968; however, he was assigned to the unit from May 1965 to July 1966, so his exposure to herbicide agents cannot be presumed.  38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iv). Despite the Board's directives, the RO made no contact with the Records Research Center (RRC), which verifies such exposure, instead simply noting that the Veteran did not serve in Vietnam.  Remand is therefore necessary to comply with the Board's prior remand directives in this regard.

Entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied.

Action on this inextricably intertwined claim is deferred pending the above development.  

These matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Attempt to verify the claimed exposure to herbicide agents and/or toxic chemicals in or near the Korean DMZ through the appropriate entities, such as the RRC. 

Send sequential requests to the RRC in an effort to verify the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents consistent with his period of service while stationed in Korea (May 1965 to July 1966).  Please note that the Veteran served in a unit (7th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry) that has been identified as operating in or on the Korean DMZ beginning in August 1968. 

If necessary, make sequential requests to the RRC or other repository to cover the entire time period provided by the Veteran. All requests and responses received should be associated with the claims file. If such verification is not possible, it should be so certified for the record (along with a description of the extent of the development conducted).

 

 

S. BUSH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Asante, Ruby

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.