Okinawa VA claims: Agent Orange and what the Board grants

Is there an Agent Orange presumption for Okinawa?

No. Okinawa is not among the places where VA presumes herbicide exposure. For any other place, VA's manual says it is the claimant's burden to establish the exposure as a fact (M21-1 VIII.i.1.A).

VA's location presumptions name Vietnam and its offshore waters, the Korean DMZ, Thailand, Laos, parts of Cambodia, Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Atoll, each for set dates. Okinawa is not on that list. An Okinawa claim is a direct claim: proof of the exposure, a current diagnosis and a medical link.

How often does the Board grant Okinawa Agent Orange claims?

For the conditions on the herbicide list, the Board granted 17.4% of claims from veterans whose decision names Okinawa, against 23.4% for all veterans with the same conditions. Diabetes was granted 13.6% of the time, against 20.0% overall.

2,122 Board decisions from 2020 to 2025 name Okinawa. The decision records herbicide exposure in 1,175 of them (55.4%). The chart compares each condition with all veterans who claimed it.

Bar: share granted for Okinawa veterans

Red mark: all veterans with the same condition

Conditions on the Agent Orange list

VA presumes these for herbicide exposure at the listed places, not for Okinawa.

• Diabetes DC 7913

  13.6% · 85 of 624

  all veterans 20.0%On the Agent Orange list

• Hypertension DC 7101

  16.5% · 58 of 352

  all veterans 20.2%On the Agent Orange list

• Coronary artery disease DC 7005

  18.3% · 51 of 278

  all veterans 30.0%On the Agent Orange list

• Prostate, bladder or kidney cancer DC 7528

  21.3% · 49 of 230

  all veterans 32.7%On the Agent Orange list

• Parkinson's disease DC 8004

  30.1% · 25 of 83

  all veterans 35.3%On the Agent Orange list

Other conditions Okinawa veterans claimed

• PTSD DC 9411

  27.3% · 94 of 344

  all veterans 31.4%

• Hearing loss DC 6100

  16.7% · 39 of 233

  all veterans 18.7%

• Nerve damage, legs DC 8520

  13.9% · 28 of 202

  all veterans 27.1%

• Sleep apnea DC 6847

  18.1% · 30 of 166

  all veterans 24.6%

• Knee DC 5257

  12.9% · 18 of 139

  all veterans 20.3%

• Tinnitus DC 6260

  50.4% · 66 of 131

  all veterans 46.6%

• Erectile dysfunction DC 7522

  16.8% · 19 of 113

  all veterans 17.7%

• Nerve damage, arms DC 8513

  10.7% · 11 of 103

  all veterans 19.9%

• Back (degenerative arthritis) DC 5242

  23.3% · 24 of 103

  all veterans 23.1%

• Back (disc disease) DC 5243

  21.1% · 20 of 95

  all veterans 20.7%

• Back or neck strain DC 5237

  21.5% · 20 of 93

  all veterans 15.1%

• Migraine DC 8100

  20.7% · 17 of 82

  all veterans 30.8%

• Degenerative arthritis (other joints) DC 5003

  22.7% · 15 of 66

  all veterans 22.9%

• Skin cancer DC 7818

  9.4% · 6 of 64

  all veterans 19.2%

• Shoulder DC 5201

  20.6% · 13 of 63

  all veterans 16.3%

• Depression DC 9434

  41.9% · 26 of 62

  all veterans 38.2%

• COPD DC 6604

  3.8% · 2 of 53

  all veterans 13.2%

• Digestive cancers DC 7343

  14.6% · 7 of 48

  all veterans 23.5%

• 9400 DC 9400

  17.4% · 8 of 46

  all veterans 22.6%

• 5271 DC 5271

  16.7% · 7 of 42

  all veterans 19.2%

• Acid reflux (GERD) DC 7206

  17.1% · 7 of 41

  all veterans 20.0%

• Dermatitis or eczema DC 7806

  17.9% · 7 of 39

  all veterans 18.6%

• Hip or thigh DC 5253

  7.7% · 3 of 39

  all veterans 15.9%

• 7813 DC 7813

  7.9% · 3 of 38

  all veterans 17.0%

• Hypertensive heart disease DC 7007

  26.3% · 10 of 38

  all veterans 15.3%

• 5276 DC 5276

  22.2% · 8 of 36

  all veterans 21.9%

• 9201 DC 9201

  16.7% · 6 of 36

  all veterans 15.0%

• Kidney disease DC 7502

  22.6% · 7 of 31

  all veterans 24.2%

• 5110 DC 5110

  6.5% · 2 of 31

  all veterans 10.8%

One count per veteran per condition; a remand counts as not granted. Conditions with at least 30 veterans.

Diabetes was granted for 85 of 624 veterans, hypertension for 58 of 352, and coronary artery disease for 51 of 278 (18.3%, against 30.0% overall). Conditions off the list did a little worse than for everyone: 20.3%, against 23.9% for the same mix of conditions.

Decisions that name OkinawaAll veterans, same conditions

2020

13.1%

17.3%

2021

14.7%

20.1%

2022

12.1%

25.4%

2023

17.3%

27.4%

2024

21.5%

26.7%

2025

25.8%

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 share rose from 13.8% in 2020 and 2021 to 21.2% from 2023 to 2025. The PACT Act did not add Okinawa, and the data does not show why. Part of it may be veterans who also served at a place the PACT Act did add.

How do Okinawa herbicide claims succeed?

Usually on other service. About three in four Okinawa grants on the herbicide-list conditions came in decisions that also name Vietnam, Thailand, Guam or another listed place, and that service carries its own presumption. Others won on a credible, detailed account of exposure, with the benefit of the doubt.

In one recent grant, the Board found a veteran's account of exposure on Okinawa and in Vietnam credible and gave the veteran the benefit of the doubt. In another, a leukemia claim was granted because the veteran served in the territorial sea of Vietnam.

Why are Okinawa herbicide claims denied?

For 425 denials of herbicide-list conditions, the Board's note named the exposure in 72.2% of them. Without a presumption, the claim needs proof that the exposure happened.

Without a presumption, the Board looks for evidence that herbicides were present where the veteran served and that the veteran was exposed. Personnel records, unit histories and specific, consistent statements carry the most weight.

Read the decisions

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

• A26035819, April 2026: coronary artery disease granted; the Board found the veteran's statements about exposure on Okinawa and in Vietnam credible and applied the benefit of the doubt.
• A26036697, April 2026: chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma granted on the herbicide presumption, because the veteran served in the territorial sea of Vietnam.
• A26040549, April 2026: hypertension and coronary artery disease denied; the Board found insufficient evidence of herbicide exposure.

What the data cannot tell you

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

For representatives

• Look for service at a listed place first: Vietnam and its waters, Thailand, Guam, the Korean DMZ and the others each carry a presumption.
• Without one, build the exposure as a fact: duties, dates, locations and any records of herbicide use where the veteran served.
• Get a medical opinion that links the condition to the exposure the evidence supports.