Garry,
Sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. Glad to hear though that he won his claim. It's a slippery slope choosing the right words in a claim. Hopefully all VA offices will some day soon start working by the same rules. Things are getting better and Thailand vet's are winning claims. Also hopefully some day soon the the VA will concede that any vet who served at a military base in Thailand was exposed to herbicides so we all can stop the hoop jumping to get a claim approved.