UN IT ED ST AT ES CO UR T O F A PP EA LS FO R V ET ER AN S C LA IMS

N O . 04-1769 R OS A G. C ANL AS , A P P EL LA NT ,

V . R. J A M ES N I CHOL S ON , S ECR ETA RY OF V ETER A N S A FF AI RS , A PP ELL EE .
On Ap pe al f rom the Bo ard

of Ve ter an s' Ap pe als (Decided June 15, 2007 )

Ge arold L. Kn ow les , of

W ash ing ton , D .C ., fo r th e ap pe llant. Ti m S . Mc Cl ain , G en era l C ouns el; R. Ra nd all Ca mp be ll , A ssi stant G en era l C ouns el; Joan E. Mor iar ty , De puty As sis tant G en era l C ouns el; and Ni sh a C . Wa gle , Appellate Att orney, all of W ash ing ton , D .C ., fo r th e ap pe lle e. Before HAGEL , MOORMAN, and D AVIS, Ju dges . DAVIS, Judge : Rosa G. Canlas appeals through counsel from a May 17, 2004, dec ision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) that dete rmined she was not el igible for depende ncy and indemnity compensation (DIC) because herdeceased spouse , I gn aci o David Canlas, did not ha ve rec og niz ed

act ive ser

vic e in the Ar m ed Fo rce s o f t

he Un ite d S tat es f

or p urp os es of

any law adm ini ste red

bythe Se cre tar

y und er t itl e 3 8 o f t

he U. S. Co de . T his app eal is t im ely , and the Co urt ha s juris dic tio n to rev iewthe Bo ard ' s d eci sio n p urs uant t o 3 8 U .S .C

. §§ 72 52 (a) an d 7 26 6(a ). I n th is appea l, we m

us t d ete rm ine whe the r t

he d uty to a ssi st un de r 3 8 U. S. C. § 5 10 3Are quires the Se cre tar y to search

fo r a c lai m ant' s ser

vic e num be r to aid in ver if yin g his or her

serv ice . W e h old that the dut y to assist requires VAto obtain records that contain information that i s relevantto the adjudicat ion of the cl aim, such as a claimant's servic e number, where qualifying service i s in doubt
an d th e cla im ant a de qu ate ly ide nti fi es su chre co rds to t he Se cre tar

y. Be cau se t

he ap pe llant f

ail ed to adequatel y identify records reasonabl y likely to contain information relevant t o the adjudic ation2

of her claim, the Court will affirm the May 2004 Board decis ion.

I. BACKGROUND Mrs . C an las ' hu sb an d d ied in Aug us t 19 96 . In

May 20 02 , s he fil ed

a for m al D IC clai m

wi th the M an ila , Ph ili pp ine s, V A reg ion al of fi ce (R O)

. In

h er cla im , sh e pro vid ed

th e RO with her deceased husband's date of bir th, date of death, and place of death. She also informed VAthat he
serve d as " 1s t Lieutenant, Hq. Co. 10th BN, NW Pampanga, Military Dist rict, USAFFE [(U.S. Armed Forces Far East)], Luzon Guerilla Army F orces (ECLGA)" from May 1942 to June 1945. Re co rd ( R. ) at

1 4, 7 0. Sh e wa s no t ab le t o p rov ide the RO wi th a ser vic e num be r f or h er d ece ase d hu sb an d. In s up po rt o f h er c lai m , M rs. Canla s su bm itt ed (1) copies of

he r hu sb an d' s d eat

h certifica te, (2) a c opy of their m arriage certificate, (3) various affidavits from her deceased husband
an d o the rs atte sti ng to his m ili tar y ser vic e, an d (4 ) a c op y o f a

cer tif ied car d id entif

yin g M r. C an las
as a mem ber of the "NWPMD, E CLGA, TH ORP, and RAMSE Y's GU ERRILLA." R. at 26. In Ma y 2002 , th e R O r eq ue ste d f rom the Natio na l P ers onne l R eco rds Ce nte r (N PR C) a ve rif icatio n o f M r. C an las ' ser

vic e. Th e req

ue st co rre ctl y ide nti fi ed

his nam e (f

irs t, l ast , and

m idd le ini tia l), date of

birth, date of de ath , un it of assi gnm ent, d ate s o f s erv ice , rank , and parents' nam es, but did not ide ntify a service number or his place of birth. In the block for service number on the req ue st f orm , "u nk [n own] " w as written . R . at 70 . T hat sam e month, the RO sent Mr s. Canla s a letterthat ident ified VA's duty-to-assistand duty-to- notify r equir ements pursuant to the Vet erans Cl aim s A ssi stanc e A ct of

200 0, Pub . L . N o. 10 6-4 75 , § 3(a ), 1 14 St at. 20 96 (V CAA) , and ask ed he r to identi fy inform ation or evi dence that s he would like VA to obtai n on her behalf. In Se pte m

be r 2 00 2, th e RO re cei ve d the fo llo wi ng res po ns e f rom the NP RC : "S ub

jec t ha s no ser vic e as a m em

be r of the Ph ili pp ine Com

m onwe alth Ar

my, incl ud ingthe r eco gn ize d g ue ril las , in the s erv ice o f the Unit ed S tat es Ar

m ed F orc es. " R

. at 70

. T hat s am e m onth, th e RO is sued a de cis ion that de nie d M rs. Canla s' DI C c lai m on the gro un ds that th e N PR C c ou ld n ot v eri fy that he r deceased husband ha d military servi ce that qual ified for VA benefits. In Ap ril 2 00 3, M rs. C an las f ile d a No tic e of

Di sag ree m ent (N OD ). I n h er N OD , M rs. Canla s informed the RO f

or the firsttime that her hu sb an d had ext ensive work exper ience with t he Ph ili pp ine Go ve rnm ent and the U .S . m ili tar

y at C lar k Ai r Fo rce Bas e. In r esp on se, the RO iss ue d a S tat em en t of

the Ca se ( SOC) co nc lud ingthat "[ d] eci sio ns co nc ern ingve rif icatio n o f m ili tar

y3

ser vic e ar e th e re sp on sib ili ty o f the N PR C an d un de r t he p rov isi on

o f [3 8 C. F. R. § 3 .2 03 (2 00 3)] are bin din g o n V A whic h h as n o a uth ori ty t o c hang e o r am en d th e f ind ing s. " R . at 11 5. Mrs . C an las timely f iled her Substantive Appeal and the m atter was transferred and certified to the Boa rdfor ap pe llate r ev iew . ASe pte m be r 20 03 "Me m orand

um for File" autho red

bya p ers on

ide nti fi ed

as "Veterans Ser vice Center M anager" not es that t he U.S. Arm y Reserve Personnel Command informed VAthat "unl ess the cl aimant reports per sonal data (such as [ a] nam e) which is different fr om that w hic h w as p rov ide d in a p rio r re qu est

fo r se rvi ce v eri fi cat ion , th ere is no v alu e in resubmitting a reque st for reveri fication." R. at 125- 26. In i ts M ay 17 , 2 00 4, de cis ion

he re o n a pp eal , th e B oard af

fi rm ed th e RO ' s de ter

m inatio n th at Mrs . C an las wa s n ot e nti tle d to VAbe ne fi ts b eca us e h er d ece ase d s po us e did not have rec og niz ed
m ili tar y s erv ice

.
II. CONTENTIONS ON A PPEAL On appeal, Mrs. Canlas asks the C ourt to set aside the B oard's decision and rem an d the
m att er. In s up po rt o f h er r eq ue st, sh e ra ise s f

our ar gum ents p ert aini ng to VA' s d uty -to -as sis t req uir e m e n ts a s w e ll a s h e r c o n te n ti o nth at th e B o ard ' s f a il e d to c o n s id e r w h e th e r th os e req uir em en ts h ad

be enpro pe rlysat isf

ied . F irs t, M rs. Canla s ass ert s that VAerre d wh enit f ail ed to
m ak e any e ff

ort to o bta in h er d ece ase d hus band ' s se rvi ce n um be r be fo re a ttempt ing to v eri fy his
m ili tar y s erv ice . S he co nte nd s th at the ser vic e num ber i s an ess entia l it em

of inf orm ati on ne ed ed for an NPRC search. Second, Mrs. Canlas asserts that VA erred when it f ailed to subm it all rel evant inf orm ati on reg ard inghe r d ece ase d hu sb an d' s m ili tar y un its in ord er t o v eri fy

his m ili tar

y s erv ice

. Sp ec if ic al ly , s he as se rt s t ha t t he RO s ho ul d h av e in for med the NPR C tha t h erde ce as edhu sb an d's gu err ill a unit

wa s "atta ch ed

to t he 31 st Inf

antryan d 5 17 th F .A . U .S . Ar my. " R. at 85 . Thi rd, Mrs

. Canla s as ser

ts that V A e rre d whe n it

fa ile d to use in fo rm ati on

fro m her hus band ' s em

plo ym ent w ith the U. S. Go ve rnm ent du

rin g and fo llo wi ng W orl d W ar I I in ord er to loca te her hus band ' s se rvi ce nu mber

. Fo ur th , Mr s. Ca nl as a ss er ts t ha t VA erre d whe n itfai le d t o s ub mithe r h us ba nd 's fu ll na me when attempting to verify his milita ry servic e. She contends tha t it was error on the pa rt of the RO only to provide her decease d husband's m iddle ini tial and nothis entir e middle nam e. In r esponse, the Sec retary asks t he Court to affirm the Board's decision here on appeal. He
co nte nd s th at V A f

ull y s ati sf

ied its duty- to- ass ist

req uir em ents and

"th e se arch c on du cte d w ith4

respect t o Mr. Canlas' service records was nei ther deficient nor i mproper." Secretary's Brief (Br.) at 1 3. As to whe the r V A w as r eq uir ed to s ear chfo r Mr . Canlas ' ser vic e num be r, t he Se cre tar

y contends that because Mr. Canlas did not have recognized guerill a service with the U.S. mil it ary, he was neverissued a U.S. servi ce number. Se e Se cre tar y' s B r. at 13 . T he Se cre tar y f urt he r co nte nd s th at an N PR C s ear chcan be proper ly c om

ple ted fo r a P hil ipp ine ind ivi du al s uc h a s Mr

. Canlas wit ho ut a service number. Se e Se cre tar y' s B r. at 14 . A s to wh eth er V A w as r eq uir ed to submit additional i nform ation rega rding Mr. Canla s' em ployment with the U.S. Government , the Se cre tar y co nte nd s that n on e of

th e U. S. G ov ernm ent e m

plo ym ent d oc um ents in the rec ord co nta in his ser vic e num be r an d, m ore im

po rtantl y, a se arc h f

or v eri ficatio n o f s erv ice at N PR C' s re co rd rep os ito ry r eq

uir es n either his ser

vic e num be r no r em

plo ym ent re co rds . A s to wh eth er V A w as req uir ed to s ub m it a dd iti on al infor m ati on pe rta ini ng to M r. C an las ' m ili tar y unit , th e S ecr etary co nte nd s th at the a

pp ell ant t wi ce fa ile d to pro vid e VAw itha dd iti on al inf orm ati on p ert ain ing to he r hu sb an d' s m ili tar

y unit , and

a se arc h f

or a Phi lip pin e in div idu al s uc h a s Mr . C an las did no t re qu ire all o f his unit

num be rs to be c on sid ere d a va lid and c om ple te search

. F ina lly , a s to wh eth er V A w as req uir ed to s ub m it his f

ull m idd le nam e rathe r th anjus t hi s m idd le i nit ial , th e S ecr etary c onten ds that his full name was not required t o conduct a complete sear ch.

III . D IS CU SS ION On ap pe al, the app ell ant rais es se ve ral argum ents c onten din g th at V A b rea ch ed its duty t o ass ist un de r 38 U. S. C. § 5 10 3Aby fa ili ng to p rov ide the NP RC wi th s uf fi cie nt d ata

to i de nti fy

Mr. Canlas and conduct a complete search for recor ds to verify ser vice. We do not agree with the ap pe llant t

hat V A f ail ed to s ati sf y it s d uty to ass ist

. C on gre ss en act ed th e VC AA , c od if

yin g a duty to a ssi st cla im ants un de r 3 8 U. S. C. § 5 10 3A

. G en era lly , the S ecr etary ha s a duty to "'m ake
re as on ab le eff

or ts ' t o as si stac la ima nti n ob ta in in g ev id en ce n ec es sa ry to subs ta nt ia te th e c la ima nt 's cla im ." 3 8 U .S .C . § 51 03 A( a)( 1); see Cromer v. Nic holson , 45 5 F. 3d 13 46 , 1 35 1 (F ed . C ir. 20 06 ). "Acla im fo r ve teran' s d isa

bil itybe ne fi ts h as f

ive ele m ents: (1) veteran st atus ; (2) exi stence of a disabili ty; (3) s ervice conne ction of the disability; (4) degre e of disabi lity, and ( 5) effective date of th e d is ab il it

y. " D'Am ico v. Wes t , 209 F.3d 1322, 1326 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (emphasis added) (citi ng Mag git t v. Wes t , 2 02 F. 3d

13 70 , 1 37 5 (F ed . C ir. 20 00 )). Th e S ecr etary’ s d uty to a ssi st a

pp lie s to all five ele ments of a claim, including assist ing a claim ant in verifying veteran st atus. Thus, to the5

extent our c aselaw suggest s that such a duty is discr etionary, t he subsequent ena ctment of the VCAA has now made the duty mandatory. See Sarmie nto v. Brown , 7 Vet.App. 80, 85 (1994) (rec ognizing that "The Secr etary has t aken upon himself an affirm ative non-s tatutory duty to ' request ver ification from the servi ce department' when one claiming eligibil ity for benefits fail s to submit evidence of service orsubmits insufficient evidence ."), ov errule d in pa rt on oth er g ro un ds byD'

Am ico , 209 F.3d at 1325-27. Whe re e vid en ce o f q

ua lif yin g s erv ice is at iss ue , VA"sh all req ue st v eri fi cat ion

of ser vic e from the servi ce depa rtment." 38 C.F.R. § 3.203(c) (2006). "Phil ippine vete rans are noteligibl e for veterans' benefits unl ess a United St at es s ervi ce department documents or certi fies their s ervice." Soria v. Brown , 11 8 F. 3d

747 , 7 49 (F ed . C ir. 19 97 ); see 38 C.F.R . § 3.41(a) (2006) . These findings bythe ser vic e d ep artm ent as to q

ua lif yin g s erv ice fo r VAben ef its "are bind ingon VAfo r pu rpo ses of e sta bli sh ings erv ice in

th e U .S . Arm ed

Fo rce s. " Du ro v. De rw ins ki , 2 Ve t.A pp . 5 30 , 5 32 (19 92 ). Th e ap pe llant wo uld

h av e us c on clu de th at the d uty to a ssi st ob lig ate s VAto search for records t hat may contain a service number for Mr. Canlas in order t o complete a search for rec ords at th e ser vic e dep artm ent to v eri fy wh eth er M r. C an las ha d q ua lif yin g m ili tar

y s erv ice . S he rel ies
o nre m ark s b yth e d ir e c to r o f th e N P R C a t t

h is C o urt ' s F o urt

hA nnu a l Ju d ic ia l C on fe ren ce ad dre ssi ng a g en era l se arc h f or r eco rds : The keyp oint h ere is if

y ou ' re loo kin g fo r r eco rds o f a W orl d W ar II Ai r F orce or Ar my p ers on , d on ' t us e th e S oc ial Se curity num be r. W e' ve go t to go to t

he ser vic e number. That's the key to our index. That's the pers onal identi fier. David Pe tre e, Di r. o f t

he Nat. P ers onne l R eco rds Ctr. in S t. L ou is, Mis so uri , A dd res s at the Fo urt h Annual Judicial Conference (Sept. 16, 1996), in 10 Vet.App. XIX, at CCXXX(1996). In addi tion, according t o the official guidel ines for retr ieval of Philippi ne Army and guerrill a records c ited by the Secret ary in his br ief, the servi ce number, if available, is one of four identifi er s us edby the NPRC to verify claimed service. U.S. Nati onal Archives & Records Administration, htt p :/ /w ww . arc hiv es. go v/s t-l ou is/ m ili tar y-p ers onne l/p hil ipp ine

- army-records.html ( las t vi sit ed May 14, 2007). Therefore, based on t he NPR C director's rem arks and National Archives guideline s, we recognize t hat the ser vice number is clear ly releva nt to a sear ch forv er if ica tion of service

. Th e ap pe llant c onten ds that be cau se t he ser vic e num be r is ess entia l to a ve rif

icatio n s ear ch at t he NP RC , VAerre d byfai lin g to lo cat e and obta in em

plo ym ent rec ord s, chron icl ingMr. Canla s'6

employm ent with the U.S. Government after service, that might contain his ser vice number. Se e Br

. at 1 0 (" It s eem s li ke ly t

hat re co rds relatin g to hi s em plo ym ent sho uld

contai n h is s erv ice num

be r." ). However, "[t]he Secretary i s not requir ed to provide assistance to a claimant under this section i f no reasonable possibili ty exists that such as sistance would aid i n subst antiati ng the clai m." 38 U.S .C. § 5 10 3A( a)( 2). "[ T] he duty t o a ssi st i s n ot a lic en se f or a ' fi sh ing ex

pe dit ion ' to d ete rm ine if

the re m ight be so m e uns pe cif ied inf orm ati on wh ich co uld po ssi bly su pp ort a claim ." Go bb er v . De rw ins ki , 2 Vet.App. 470, 472 (1992) (ru lin g on the f orm er ve rsi on

of the duty t o a ssi st c od if

ied as 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (West. 1991)). Rather , the duty to as sist re quires the Secretary to "make
rea so na ble ef fo rts to o bta in r ele vant r eco rds (in clu din g p riv ate rec ord s) tha t t h ec la im an t ad

eq ua tel y ide nti fies to the Secre tary and aut horizes t he Secretary t o obtain." 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(b)(1) (em ph asis add ed ); see also Loving v . Nicholson , 19 Vet.App. 96, 102 (2005) (holdi ng that the Se cre tar y' s d uty to a ssi st inc lud es m ak ing"r eas on ab le ef fo rts to o bta in r ele vant r eco rds ," a s lo ng as the cla im an t "a de qu ate ly i de nti fi es" th os e rec ord s to the Se cre tar y and autho riz es t

he Se cre tar

y to obtain them.). There is no evi dence of record catalogui ng the appellant's request that VA search for U.S. go ve rnm en t rec ord s to ob tai n Mr. Can las ' serv ice num be r, no r doe s the reco rd c ontai n e vid en ce t hat the appell ant a dequately identified specific U.S. Government recor ds for such purpose. See Loving , 19 Vet.App. at 102 (dismissing the ve teran's duty-to- assist a rgument because "at no time during the pe nd en cyof

[t he ve ter an ' s] cla im

be fo re V A d id [ the ve ter an ] e ve r id entif y [ rec ord s]

. . .[ ]o r expla in how they might be r elevant to his cla im"). Moreover, here the appell ant rais es this ar gument for the first time. Se e Ma

gg itt , 2 02 F. 3d

at 1 37 7 (h old ingthat th is C ou rt h as d iscretio n to co ns ide r arguments raised before i t in the firs t instanc e). Th ou ghwe enter

tai n th e m eri ts o f t

he app ell ant' s arg um ent, be cau se t he ap pe llant h as f

ail ed to e xp lai n whythe em

plo ym ent re co rds , whic h s he o nly g en era llyid entif

ied , wo uld

be rea so na

bly lik ely to c ontai n a

ser vic e num be r f or M r. C an las , and

be cau se s he fa ile d to mak e any s uc h identificat ion during the pe nd en cyo f the a pp ell ant' s cla im

at V A, w e canno t co nc lud e th at, in t his case, VA failed to conform with the assi stance provi sions of section 5103A. Id . W e h old , h ow ev er, that th e d uty to a ssi st r eq

uir es VAto o bta in rec ord s rel ev ant to the ad jud icatio n o f a

cla im , s uc h a s a cl aim an t' s se rvi ce n

um be r w he re qua lif

yin g s erv ice is i n d ou

bt and the cla im ant ad

eq ua tel y ide nti fies su chrec ord s to the Se cre tary. W e leave op enthe qu est ion wh eth er the duty t o a ssi st7

requires t he S ecretar y to obtain ade quately ide ntified recor ds where the NPRC had already responded thatthe servi ce mem ber in quest ion had no qualifying se rvice. Mrs. Canlas al so assert s that V A e rr edwhen it fail ed to submit to the NPRC all rele vant inf orm ati on reg ard inghe r de cea sed

hu sb an d' s m ili tar

y unit , a s w ell as h is c om ple te m idd le n am e, in order t o verify his military s ervice. The May 2002 VArequest to verify service submitted to the NPRC included detailed i nform ation addre ssing his uni t assignment: "GUERILLA H q Co 10th Bn NW Pampanga Military Dist rict USAFEE Luzon Gue ri ll a Army F orces." R. at 40. Spec ifically, Mrs . C an las ass ert s th at, in re sp on se to af fi davit s su

bm itt ed in A pri l 20 03 , n oti ng that he r de cea sed husband's guerrill a unit was "at tached to t he 31stInfantry and 517th F.A. United States Army" (R. at 85), VA should have included the details in a request for verification pursuant t o the provisi ons of 38 C.F.R. § 3.203(c). Appellant's Br. at 12. Th e ap pe llant f

ail s to no te that th e af

fi davit on whi chshe re lie s w as s ub m itt ed to VA m ore than s ix m onths af

ter the Se pte m

be r 20 02 NP RC rep ort

n oti ng th at the re w as n o e vid en ce t hat Mr

. Canlas had quali fying service. I n light of the abi lity of the NPRC to conduct a thorough and adequate sea rc h an d th e determination by the U.S. service depar tment that Mr. Canlas ha d no qualifying servi ce, the appellant 's information, without more, is insufficient to r equire re verificati on under the Sec re ta ry 's duty t o assist obl igation. " In the typi cal case, t he Secretar y would have fulfilled his regulat ory duty to verify under § 3.203(c ) by making a single reques t for verificat ion." Se e S ar mi en to , 7 Vet.App. at 85 (remand for VAto request verificati on of claimant's service using correct ly spelle d first and las t name). As for VA ' s use in the NPR C re qu est of Mr . Canla s' mi dd le in iti al, rath er th anful l m idd le
nam e, ther e is no indi cat ion that the N PR C w as u

na ble to c on du ct a

tho rou ghan d a de qu ate s earch on this basi s. For example, the NPRC did not respond that i t had identi fied a per son by using the name provided, but that the person's other ident ifying in for mation did not match the identifying information the appellantprovided; and that, therefore, the full middle name was needed to identify the co rre ct i nd ivi du al. Th is i s n ot a cas e in wh ich

the re i s ev ide nc e th at M r. C an las m ayhave us ed a different nam e or diff

erent var iation of his name in servi ce, as was the ca se in Sa rm ien to , su pra . In l ight of the de ter m inatio n b y the U.S . ser

vic e dep artm ent, ba sed

on ad eq uate an d c orr ect information, that Mr. Canlas did not have qualifying servi ce, VA is bound by that cer tificati on and Mrs. Canlas' recour se l ies within the rele vant servi ce department. So ria , 11 8 F. 3d at 7 49 . S ho uld8

the servi ce d ep artm ent v eri fy M r. Canla s' s erv ice at a

f utu re date, th e ap pe llant m ays ub m it the certifica tion recor ds to VA and seek to reopen her claim. Se e 38 U.S.C. § 5108. Therefore, having
co nd uc ted a se arc h f or re co rds that

was base d on

adeq uate id entif

yin g in fo rm ati on

an d th at r esu lte d in the NPRC's conclusion that the veteran " has no servic e as a mem ber of the Philippi ne Co mm onwe alth A rm

y in clu din g re co gn ize d g ue ril las , in the ser vic e o f t he United St ate s A rm ed Forces" (R. at70), a remand for VA to submit to the NPRC more detail ed information concerning the indivi dual's guerilla un it or middle name would only serve to needl essly dela y the process ing of the appellant 's claim. See Vali ao v. Princ ipi , 17 V et. Ap p. 22 9, 23 2 (2 00 3) ( ho ldi ng that "[ w] he re the fa cts av err ed

by a cla im ant c anno t c on cei va bly re su lt in any d isp os iti on

of the ap pe al o the r th an affirm ance of the Board decis ion, the case should not be re manded f or development tha t coul d not possibly change the outcome of the decision")

. Fi na lly , th e ap pe llant argues the Bo ard err ed byrel yin g o n th e m ate ria l er ror s d isc us sed above. Because we conclude that VA f ulfilled its duty- to-assi st requir ements under section 5103A, the appell ant's argument is without merit.

IV . C ON CL US ION Upon considerati on of the foregoing, the May 17, 2004 Board de cision is AFFIRMED.