Korean Ao Vet

[Berta]

This new case shows what the VA needs in order to award AO comp to Korean vets:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp07/files1/0702718.txt on Remand;

"in written statements and sworn testimony before the

undersigned at a hearing conducted at the RO in May 2006, the

veteran has provided competent credible evidence that Company

B of the 707th Maintenance Battalion was stationed on a hill

called "Charley Block" which was within one mile of the

DMZ, and that he and other members of his maintenance

battalion provided maintenance support to artillery and other

units of both the 7th and 2nd Infantry Divisions along the

DMZ during his period of overseas service in Korea."

The remand includes:

"The goals of the research request are (1) to determine the

actual physical location of the veteran's unit (Company B,

707th Maintenance Battalion, 7th Infantry Division) during

the time when he was stationed with that unit; and further

(2) to determine the types of activities and duties performed

by members of that unit during the times identified. The

ultimate purpose in this research is to verify whether the

veteran was actually exposed to herbicide agents in the

identified relevant locations at any time during his service

in Korea from January 1969 to July 1969. "

Also importantly-

"The veteran's service personnel records indicate

that his entire period of service in Korea was with Company

B, 707th Maintenance Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.

Company B of the 707th Maintenance Battalion is not one of

the listed units in the Department of Defense Publication

provided under the 7th Infantry Division "

Hoever the veteran's unit ,the veteran claims, was in mainatainence support of the 2nd Infantry Division as well as the 7th Infantry division- confirmed as presumed to AO exposure already by DOD.

This case is important because it shows that veterans who were in support of the 2nd and 7th Infantry Divisions also have disabilities that are consistent with AO- in this case DMII-

this vet's unit is not on the Korean Division and Brigade list.

If the vet on remand can support or also if the JSCRR can also confirm exposure- this becomes one more vet who succeeds on AO Korea claim.

The vet has DMII and also prostrate cancer -both AO presumptive disabilities.

[Josephine]

Berta,

I clicked on the remand, but did not read the same as you have posted. This case took me to the JFK.

Did I miss something?

Josephine

[jbasser]

Berta, can you re-post the link to the case for Korean AO. The actual post shows a Sailor serving on JFK off the coast of Lebanon.

[carlie]

Please repost the URL,

thanks,

carlie

[Berta]

Sorry guys -I was making a point with that claim-

The BVA AO Korean vet award is based on the same rationale:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp05/files3/0519524.txt

(The swath of confirmed spraying obviously can not be a rigid boundary- as the AO Korean info shows-and the BVA used the fact of "close proximity" to grant this vet's DMII claim.)

"A map study conducted by the Board indicates that the

veteran's unit, 1/17 FA, was located 1.9 miles from 1/23 IN,

and 2.9 miles from 1/38 IN during the time period of the

veteran's tour in Korea, and subsequently during the time

period when Agent Orange was used in this vicinity. In light

of the close proximity of the veteran to units acknowledged

by VA to have been exposed to Agent Orange, and affording the

veteran the benefit of the doubt, the Board finds that a

grant of service connection for type II diabetes mellitus is

in order.

ORDER

Service connection is granted for diabetes mellitus, type II,

claimed as due to in-service herbicide exposure in Korea."

My point is to show that these claims can be awarded if the veteran can pinpoint their exposure within the specific sprayed area defined in the VBM and at NVLSP web site etc-

as well as show that their unit and their duty put them into "close proximity" enough to raise the issue of Benefit of Doubt-and thus VA will award.