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Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim for VA death benefits because her deceased husband had no verified service in the United States Armed Forces, including any alleged Vietnam service. The decedent was therefore not considered a 'veteran' and ineligible for VA death benefits.

The deciding factor: The Department of the Army, via the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), could not verify the decedent's claimed military service, including any service in Vietnam.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 21, 2018
Citation
18103749

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 18103749.

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