The Veteran seeks service connection for type 2 diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease, which he claims are due to his exposure to herbicides in service. The Board is tasked with determining whether the ship on which the Veteran served had inland waterway service by virtue of which he would have been exposed to air borne sprayed herbicides.
The deciding factor: The Board needs to determine if the Veteran was exposed to airborne herbicides while serving aboard the U.S.S. Tripoli in Vietnam, as this is a key factor for granting service connection based on exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- type 2 diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2016
- Citation
- 1607974
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 1607974.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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 service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a heart disability prior to his death is granted as he was entitled to accrued benefits due to the September 1994 claim, which included ischemic heart disease, a covered herbicide disease.
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