The Veteran's claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease, which he asserts is due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam, has been remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The AOJ will obtain and review the command history and deck logs of the U.S.S. Piedmont from June 1972 to July 1972, as well as any other relevant evidence pertaining to the activities of the ship during his service. They must also issue a new formal finding regarding alleged herbicide exposure in light of Gray v. McDonald.
The deciding factor: The AOJ will review the Veteran's claim based on newly obtained information about his service aboard the U.S.S. Piedmont and any relevant evidence pertaining to his activities during that time.
- Claimed conditions
- ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2016
- Citation
- 1647974
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 1647974.
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 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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