Citation Nr: 22014598 Decision Date: 03/14/22 Archive Date: 03/14/22 DOCKET NO. 17-26 404 DATE: March 14, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to nonservice-connected pension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1959 to December 1963. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2017 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Board notes that there are numerous notifications in the claims file sent to the Veteran that were returned to VA as undeliverable. Notification was sent to the Veteran regarding his appeal being docketed at the Board in February 2019, which was not returned. The Veteran requested a hearing before the Board as part of his appeal. In June 2019 and September 2021, notifications were sent to the Veteran at his last known address that hearings had been scheduled, but they were returned as undeliverable. The Board attempted to send additional notice to the Veteran at his last known address in November 2021, but it was also returned as undeliverable in January 2022. The Board finds that VA has undergone reasonable efforts to verify the Veteran's address. As of the date of this decision, VA has not received any correspondence from the Veteran regarding an address change. He has not submitted any documentation supporting a change of address. The Veteran also did not provide good cause for failing to appear for his hearing. A November 2021 appellate brief filed by the Veteran's power of attorney also indicates an inability of his veterans' service organization to locate him. The Veteran has a responsibility in keeping VA informed of any change of address and has an obligation to cooperate, when required, in the development of evidence pertaining to his claim. The duty to assist is not always a one-way street, nor is it a blind alley. Olson v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 480, 483 (1992). Therefore, the Board will proceed without a hearing. The Board finds that additional development of the Veteran's claim is required before it can proceed to adjudication. In pertinent part, the AOJ found that the Veteran did not have any qualifying wartime service and thus, he did not meet the basic eligibility requirements for pension. The Board notes that the Vietnam Era covers the period from August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975, for veterans who did not serve in Vietnam, and from February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, for veterans who served "in country." 38 U.S.C. § 101; 38 C.F.R. § 3.2. The Veteran contends that, while he was the Philippines, he completed assignments on TDY to Vietnam in 1961 and 1962. Indeed, the Veteran's military personnel records contain a performance evaluation showing that, in December 1960, the Veteran was "at present deployed on TDY." In December 1961, his evaluation shows that his duties included operating and maintaining units that were deployed to TDY locations. An evaluation in February 1962 shows that he had been on several TDY projects, and the report was not discussed with him because he was on TDY at the time. Unfortunately, none of the evaluations show where the Veteran's TDY duties were located. The record does indicate that there are other potential federal records that could help substantiate the Veteran's eligibility for pension. An August 1998 letter that has been added to the Veteran's personnel files explains that "[i]f [the Veteran] will provide us with the specific dates (month, or season, and year) of his TDY to Vietnam, we will make a search of our morning reports for the organization shown above." The personnel records contain morning reports for the Veteran's unit dated in January, February, and March 1961. Unfortunately, they do not show that anyone from the Veteran's unit or organization was sent to Vietnam during that time. However, in February 2017, the Veteran submitted e-mails from an archivist identifying other months that teams were sent to Vietnam. The e-mails indicate that the 1st Mobile Communications Group sent a team to Vietnam on 10 January 1962, and it was still there at the end of June 1962. The AOJ has not attempted to obtain morning reports covering January 1962 to June 1962. Therefore, a remand is necessary to obtain these potentially relevant federal records. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page) 1. Seek the relevant 1962 Morning Reports for the 1st Mobile Communications Group from all potential repositories of these records. The requests should cover the time-period from January 1962 to June 1962. If necessary, submit multiple 60-day requests so that the entire timeframe is covered. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. If the records cannot be obtained, prepare a memorandum of unavailability for the claims file and provide the Veteran with a proper notice that meets the requirements under 38 U.S.C. § 5103 (A)(b)(2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e), which includes (a) the identity of specific records that cannot be obtained, (b) an explanation as to the efforts that were made to obtain those records, (c) a description of any further action to be taken by VA with respect to the claim, and (d) that the Veteran is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Smith, 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.