The Board found that the appellant did not serve in Vietnam and thus could not be presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. The claim for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus as a result of exposure to herbicide agents was denied.
The deciding factor: The appellant's service records do not show he served in Vietnam, which is required for the presumption of herbicide agent exposure to apply. As such, the Board found that the appellant could not be presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during his service and thus did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2004
- Citation
- 0422341
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0422341.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.,Given the grant of TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as total (PTSD) and additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all appeals regarding his service-connected conditions and related disability ratings, effective as of March 16, 2026.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, sinusitis, hypertension, and type II diabetes mellitus due to a lack of current diagnoses or evidence linking these conditions to his active-duty service.
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