Citation Nr: 22016548 Decision Date: 03/22/22 Archive Date: 03/22/22 DOCKET NO. 18-23 840 DATE: March 22, 2022 REMANDED Service connection for prostate cancer is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1961 to September 1984. He died in April 2017. His surviving spouse has been substituted as the appellant. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2016 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Los Angeles, California. The appellant testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in November 2021. A transcript of the hearing is of record. Service connection for prostate cancer as a result of exposure to herbicides is remanded The record reflects that the Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2014. The appellant contends that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides in service while he was stationed at Kadena Air Force Base (AFB) in Okinawa, Japan. Military personnel records confirm that the Veteran was stationed at Kadena AFB from March 1974 to February 1976. The appellant testified at the Board hearing that the Veteran did not have a family history of prostate cancer and that the Veteran told her that he observed pesticide sprayed on vegetation while stationed at Kadena AFB. In a January 2016 statement, the Veteran indicated that, while he was stationed at Kadena AFB, he worked directly inside buildings "which pertained to Agent Orange." In a September 2017 statement, the appellant claimed that barrels of Agent Orange were stored close to the Veteran's training facility at Kadena AFB. The Veteran's son submitted a May 2017 statement describing his experiences living with his father on Kadena AFB. The appellant has more recently submitted a February 2022 letter from the Veteran's treating VA physician indicating that the Veteran's medical records "showed exposure to Agent Orange during his military service." The appellant also submitted a report by the "Subcommittee on Defoliation/Anticrop Systems for JTGC/CB (presently known as Vegetation Control Subcommittee)" that referenced stockpiles of herbicides at Kadena AFB in Okinawa and articles describing evidence of the use and storage of herbicides at Kadena AFB, including one published in November 2017. In July 2016, in response to an inquiry of the Veteran's potential herbicide exposure, VA's Compensation Service noted that the Department of Defense has not identified any location on Okinawa, Japan where Agent Orange was used, tested, stored or transported. The Compensation Service noted that, unless the claim clearly lacked merit or was inherently incredible, it should be referred to the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) for information to corroborate the Veteran's claimed exposure. In a September 2017 memorandum, VA determined that it lacked the information required by JSRRC to verify herbicide exposure. The Board notes that the preponderance of the evidence currently in the record does not corroborate that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his time in Okinawa. However, the material submitted after the July 2016 and September 2017 determinations by VA raise questions as to whether herbicide agents were present and in use during the Veteran's time in Okinawa. As the current evidence of record is insufficient for the Board to make a determination as to this fact, the matter must be remanded for further development. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Contact Joint Service Records Research Center (JSRRC) or other appropriate official source and request verification of whether the Veteran had exposure to herbicides at Kadena Air Force Base while stationed there from March 26, 1974 to February 27, 1976. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Snyder, 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.