Guam VA claims: the Agent Orange presumption and what the Board grants

Is there an Agent Orange presumption for Guam?

Yes, since the PACT Act. VA presumes herbicide exposure for service on Guam or American Samoa, or in their territorial waters, between January 1962 and July 1980 (38 U.S.C. 1116A). The conditions on the herbicide list are then presumed service connected.

VA's adjudication manual lists Guam and American Samoa, and their territorial waters, among the herbicide locations under 38 U.S.C. 1116A (M21-1 VIII.i.1.A gives the exact dates). Once the service is shown, the conditions on the herbicide list (38 CFR 3.309(e) and 38 U.S.C. 1116) are presumed, as they are for Vietnam veterans.

How often does the Board grant Guam herbicide claims?

For the conditions on the herbicide list, the Board granted 39.4% of claims from veterans whose decision names Guam, against 23.4% for all veterans with the same conditions. Diabetes was granted 38.2% of the time.

1,305 Board decisions from 2020 to 2025 name Guam. The decision records herbicide exposure in 915 of them (70.1%). The chart compares each condition with all veterans who claimed it.

Bar: share granted for Guam veterans

Red mark: all veterans with the same condition

Conditions on the Agent Orange list

VA presumes these for veterans who served on Guam between January 1962 and July 1980.

• Diabetes DC 7913

  38.2% · 146 of 382

  all veterans 20.0%On the Agent Orange list

• Hypertension DC 7101

  34.2% · 89 of 260

  all veterans 20.2%On the Agent Orange list

• Coronary artery disease DC 7005

  45.8% · 93 of 203

  all veterans 30.0%On the Agent Orange list

• Prostate, bladder or kidney cancer DC 7528

  44.7% · 63 of 141

  all veterans 32.7%On the Agent Orange list

• Parkinson's disease DC 8004

  42.6% · 26 of 61

  all veterans 35.3%On the Agent Orange list

• Leukemia DC 7703

  33.3% · 9 of 27

  all veterans 32.9%On the Agent Orange list

Other conditions Guam veterans claimed

• PTSD DC 9411

  27.8% · 40 of 144

  all veterans 31.4%

• Nerve damage, legs DC 8520

  25.2% · 33 of 131

  all veterans 27.1%

• Hearing loss DC 6100

  24.8% · 29 of 117

  all veterans 18.7%

• Sleep apnea DC 6847

  20.2% · 19 of 94

  all veterans 24.6%

• Erectile dysfunction DC 7522

  18.9% · 14 of 74

  all veterans 17.7%

• Nerve damage, arms DC 8513

  16.7% · 11 of 66

  all veterans 19.9%

• Tinnitus DC 6260

  50.8% · 33 of 65

  all veterans 46.6%

• COPD DC 6604

  13.6% · 8 of 59

  all veterans 13.2%

• Skin cancer DC 7818

  28.8% · 15 of 52

  all veterans 19.2%

• Knee DC 5257

  15.2% · 7 of 46

  all veterans 20.3%

• Migraine DC 8100

  20.5% · 9 of 44

  all veterans 30.8%

• Digestive cancers DC 7343

  20.9% · 9 of 43

  all veterans 23.5%

• Back (degenerative arthritis) DC 5242

  39.5% · 17 of 43

  all veterans 23.1%

• Back or neck strain DC 5237

  5.3% · 2 of 38

  all veterans 15.1%

• Dermatitis or eczema DC 7806

  20.0% · 7 of 35

  all veterans 18.6%

• Back (disc disease) DC 5243

  14.7% · 5 of 34

  all veterans 20.7%

• Acid reflux (GERD) DC 7206

  20.7% · 6 of 29

  all veterans 20.0%

• Degenerative arthritis (other joints) DC 5003

  25.9% · 7 of 27

  all veterans 22.9%

• Shoulder DC 5201

  19.2% · 5 of 26

  all veterans 16.3%

One count per veteran per condition; a remand counts as not granted. Conditions with at least 25 veterans.

Diabetes, the most common claim, was granted for 146 of 382 veterans (38.2%, against 20.0% overall). Coronary artery disease (45.8%), hypertension (34.2%) and prostate, bladder or kidney cancer (44.7%) were all well above the share for all veterans. Conditions off the list did about as well as for everyone: 23.7%, against 23.9% for the same mix of conditions.

Did the PACT Act change Guam outcomes at the Board?

Yes. On herbicide-list conditions, the grant share was 11.1% in decisions from 2020 and 2021 and 50.1% from 2023 to 2025.

Decisions that name GuamAll veterans, same conditions

2020

12.1%

17.3%

2021

10.0%

20.1%

2022

47.3%

25.4%

2023

54.4%

27.4%

2024

56.7%

26.7%

2025

36.2%

23.8%

Share of decided claims granted; a remand counts as not granted. One count per veteran. Conditions on the herbicide list: 38 CFR 3.309(e) and 38 U.S.C. 1116.

The PACT Act became law in August 2022. Decisions from 2020 and 2021 granted 11.1% of herbicide-list claims for Guam veterans; from 2023 to 2025 it was 50.1%. The share fell back in 2025 (36.2%). The data does not show why.

Why are Guam herbicide claims denied?

For 231 denials of herbicide-list conditions, the Board's note named the exposure or the service in 64.5% of them. A common reason in recent denials: no confirmed service on Guam within the presumptive dates.

In recent denials, the Board found no confirmed service on Guam within the presumptive dates, or no evidence of exposure. Some veterans whose decision names Guam also served in Vietnam or offshore, which carries its own presumption, so a denial on Guam service is not always the end of the claim.

Read the decisions

Recent decisions, with the Board's reasoning as summarized by AI:

• A26036570, April 2026: diabetes granted on presumed herbicide exposure during service on Guam, under the PACT Act.
• A26037967, April 2026: hypertension granted; the veteran served on Guam in 1973, within the presumptive period.
• A26039096, April 2026: ischemic heart disease denied; the Board found no confirmed service on Guam during the presumptive period.

What the data cannot tell you

The Guam group comes from the places each decision names; a mention is not proof of service there, of the dates, or of exposure. The herbicide flag and denial notes are AI-extracted. These are historical outcomes, not predictions.

For representatives

• Prove the dates first: service on Guam, or in its territorial waters, between January 1962 and July 1980. Personnel records, unit histories and ship logs all help.
• Then the diagnosis: for a condition on the herbicide list, the presumption covers the link to service.
• For a claim denied before the PACT Act, a supplemental claim under the new law may be worth filing.
• Check for Vietnam or offshore service too, which has its own presumption.