The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus and lung cancer, finding that the veteran's disabilities did not manifest during or within one year after his military service. The Board also concluded that there was no evidence to show that the veteran set foot in Vietnam, thus precluding presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The absence of objective evidence showing the onset of diabetes mellitus and lung cancer during service, combined with a long period without complaints or findings, reinforced the conclusion that these disabilities are not related to service. The veteran's entitlement to wear the Vietnam Service Medal did not establish actual presence in Vietnam for purposes of presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0601200
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0601200.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation of his service-connected chronic fatigue and weakness due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for lung cancer is granted, with an evaluation of 60 percent.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of lung cancer from May 1, 2005 is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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