The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer, is presumed to be related to radiation exposure during his service in Enewetak Atoll.
The deciding factor: Radiation-exposure status was established through the Veteran's participation in Operation HARDTACK I and subsequent RECA award for metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19154090
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19154090.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and there is no evidence linking his metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer or hypertension to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer, which is considered a new and material condition based on evidence not previously submitted. The Board found that this cancer was likely caused by herbicide exposure during active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for further action on the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, including obtaining missing medical records and providing a medical opinion regarding the etiology of hypertension and metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.
- Denied
The Veteran died from metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer. The Board found no evidence to support a causal connection between the Veteran's death and his active service, including his cervical spine disability, PTSD, or diabetes mellitus.
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