BVA9504172 
DOCKET NO.  93-11 026     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Chicago,
Illinois

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the veteran's
death.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

J. Dutzman, Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran had active service from May 1944 to January 1946.  He
died on February 17, 1992, and the appellant in this case is the
veteran's surviving spouse.

This matter arises from a December 1992 rating decision in which
the regional office (RO) denied entitlement to service connection
for the cause of the veteran's death.

REMAND

Prior to issuance of the December 1992 rating decision, the RO
requested the veteran's service medical records (SMRs) from the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  In October 1992, the
NPRC responded that the veteran's SMRs, if any, were not on file
and were presumed to have been destroyed by a fire in 1973 at
that facility.  Along with this response to the RO, the NPRC sent
a copy of NA FORM 13055, "Request for Information Needed to
Reconstruct Medical Data" for completion in order to access
alternate sources for reconstruction of the veteran's service
medical data.  The form was never forwarded to the appellant for
authorization necessary to provide the requested information.

In her substantive appeal, dated and received in April 1993, the
appellant contends, in essence, that the RO erred in denying her
claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's
death.  She argues that she should not be penalized because her
husband's service medical records were destroyed by fire.

In the instant case, the certificate of death lists massive
myocardial infarction as the cause of the veteran's death.
However, in a September 1992 statement, a private physician
stated that he had treated the veteran for circulatory problems
since 1990 and that the veteran died from circulatory collapse.
In addition, the appellant asserts that her husband received a
medical discharge from service due to circulatory problems.

The veteran's death certificate shows that he died at UMWA
Hospital in West Frankfort, Illinois.  Records from this hospital
are not part of the claims folder.

In view of the foregoing, it is the decision of the Board that
this case should be REMANDED for the following actions:

1.  The RO should contact the appellant and
request that she furnish information as to
all treatment the veteran received after
discharge from service.  The information
should include all such VA facilities and
the names and addresses of any private
physicians or institutions who treated the
veteran from the date of discharge to his
death.  The RO should then take all
necessary steps to obtain those records,
not already in the claims folder, including
complete treatment records from Dr. Kevin
Oestmann and terminal hospital records from
UMWA Hospital, West Frankfort, Illinois,
and associate them with the claims folder.

2.  The RO should request that the
appellant complete and sign NA FORM 13055
and return the completed form, together
with a copy of the veteran's DD-214 and the
appellant's formal claim.  Upon return of
the documents, the RO should forward the
information to NPRC to search for secondary
sources of information relevant to the
veteran's service medical data and the
appellant's claim.

3.  Following completion of the foregoing,
the RO must review the claims folder and
ensure that all of the foregoing
development actions have been conducted and
completed in full.  If any development is
incomplete, appropriate corrective action
is to be implemented.  Thereafter, the RO
should again review the appellant's claim.

If after completion of the requested development the benefit
sought has not been granted, the appellant and her representative
should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case and
be given a reasonable opportunity to respond.  Thereafter,
following compliance with all other procedures relative to the
processing of appeals, the case should be returned to the Board
for further appellate consideration.  No action is required of
the appellant until she receives further notice.

          U. R. POWELL
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board
on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1994).