The Board is remanding the case to determine if the Veteran's service aboard the USS Kyes in Vietnam constituted 'brown water' service, which would entitle him to presumptive service connection for organic heart disease due to exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: The precise location of the USS Kyes during periods when the Veteran served aboard it in the waters of the Republic of Vietnam needs to be determined to assess whether he was exposed to 'brown water' conditions, which would allow for presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- organic heart disease, coronary artery disease, status post myocardial infarction and coronary bypass surgery
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 3, 2015
- Citation
- 1546564
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 1546564.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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