The Veteran's cause of death was listed as acute myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease, with diabetes mellitus as a significant condition. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of his death based on herbicide exposure in Vietnam. However, the VA has not verified any temporary duty assignments in Vietnam during the appellant's period of service.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to verify any temporary duty assignments in Vietnam during the appellant's period of service with the 561st Engineer Company and HMS 7th Maintenance Battalion.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myocardial infarction, Diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2011
- Citation
- 1135462
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 1135462.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 28, 2021. From September 28, 2021 to May 22, 2022, the Veteran had a combined total disability rating of 100%, which rendered the issue moot as he was already receiving SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and diabetes mellitus, but granted TDIU for the period prior to January 26, 2024.,Prior to this decision, the Veteran withdrew his claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus.
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