Camp Lejeune: The Forgotten History
- beyourownkind
- Sep 1
- 11 min read
Updated: Sep 24
In 1980, after Anthony successfully completed Marine boot camp, he was transferred to the largest Marine Corps training facility in southeastern North Carolina, in Onslow County, near the city of Jacksonville, better known as Camp Lejeune. Excited to serve his country, he underwent training and served until his retirement.
What was unknown to him was that the time he spent in training would inevitably make a detrimental impact on his health years later. From 1953 to 1987, the water in Camp Lejeune's wells was contaminated with toxins, including TCE (trichloroethylene), PCE (perchloroethylene), benzene, and vinyl chloride. “On October 1, 1980, an official with Navy Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic Division, took samples and sent them to a private lab for testing.” (journal.ala.org)
After that, another sample was drawn in 1981, and on May 9, 1981, it was concluded that the “ water [was] highly contaminated with other chlorinated hydrocarbons (solvents).” (journal.ala.org) Unfortunately, the wells were not shut down until 1985. When you think of the myriad of ways we use water, drinking, showering, bathing, washing clothes, adding to recipes, cleaning our home, scrubbing baby bottles, and sanitization in the home, hospitals, restaurants, cleaners, and so forth. With contaminated remnants permeating through uniforms, water particle remnants left on dishes, and even something as simple as washing the car, it was an act of danger.
Due to this contamination, many marines and families on this base, which later in the late 1980s-1990s this contamination was linked to childhood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors), birth defects (cleft lip/palate, neural tube defects, cardiac defects), and Infant mortality, to the point of the base being nicknamed “baby heaven”. Additionally, it was linked to neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, neurobehavioral effects, ALS, and sadly linked to 16 different types of cancer, in which seven are strongly connected to cancer in the bladder, kidney, liver, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Adult leukemia, and Aplastic anemia & other myelodysplastic disorders.
Decades later, Anthony would begin feeling pain and visited his doctor to be later diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, in which he underwent the grueling process of stem cell transplant, a treatment where doctors wipe out the cancerous bone marrow and rebuild it with healthy cells. It put him in remission, but the fight left its mark. Years later, he would hear the truth: that the very water that baptized him into military life was poisoned; that same water that left scars inside his body, long after training was over.
Anthony is not just a Marine in history books — Anthony is my uncle. Unfortunately, I have witnessed my uncle fighting for his life. I’ve seen the toll that stem cell treatment took on his body, and I carry the fear each time he mentions going to his cancer remission follow-up appointment. For him, survival has never just been about what happened on the battlefield— it has also been about surviving the silent war waged inside his own body. This war was sparked by something he never could have imagined: the water he drank, bathed in, and trusted during his time at Camp Lejeune.
His story is deeply personal to me, but it's also the story of thousands of Marines and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
A Place With Two Histories
Built in 1941, Camp Lejeune is the largest training base of the Marine Corps, spanning 156,000 acres and 11 miles of Atlantic Ocean beach, which is beneficial for conducting instruction and exercises that prepare them to launch attacks from sea onto a hostile shore. Over time, this basic training facility evolved into a community with schools, housing, and amenities for families and children. This base has been defined as a haven for generations of Marines and has supported the US Military in every major conflict since World War II, playing a significant role in the development of the modern Marine Corps.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Marine Corps to begin recruiting African Americans for the first time in American History. Due to segregation, these recruits were not allowed to train alongside whites, and Montford Point Camp was built next to Camp Lejeune and became the new training site for the black recruits. By 1943, over 1200 black marines were in training, in which they lived in crude wooden huts with limited facilities that were far harsher than those of white marines; however, they were trained just as rigorously as their white counterparts. At its origin, white drill instructors trained them. In the same year, the black Marines rose to leadership positions, becoming NCOs and drill instructors for new recruits —a monumental achievement during that time.
In 1948, President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 officially desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces, establishing a policy of “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” (archives.org) “It [Truman Executive Order 9981] directed that Black Americans be accepted into job-training programs in defense plants, forbid discrimination by defense contractors, and established a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). (archives.org)
Between 1942 and 1949, more than 20,000 Black Men trained at Montford Point. In 2012, Montford Point Marines were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service and for laying the groundwork for the full integration of the Marine Corps.
Montford Point told one story of struggle- the fight of Black Marines who endured segregation to prove their place in the Corps. Later in 1953, there was another enemy- it was the water itself. For decades, the Marines and their families drank, bathed, and lived with water laced with toxic chemicals. This invisible threat stemmed from a slow leak of fuel from large underground fuel storage tanks. Many of these tanks were old, unlined, and corroded, so by the 1950s, the fuel had seeped into the groundwater, later contaminating the well water with benzene and other petroleum products. Benzene is closely linked to Leukemia, Aplastic anemia, immune system damage, and reproductive harm.
In 1953, a family-owned business, ABC One-Hour Cleaners, opened near Tarawa Terrace and used perchloroethylene (PCE), the common dry-cleaning solvent at the time; instead of regulated disposal (which apparently did not exist back then), the waste solvent was dumped or leaked into the soil. Because there were no hazardous waste laws, mechanics, cleaners, and fuel depots often dumped waste into the ground, into unlined pits, and even into storm drains. Unfortunately, at Camp Lejeune, this was “normal practice,” and in turn, these dumping practices contaminated the wells that supplied the base housing areas. PCE is directly linked to bladder, esophageal, cervical, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, neurological effects, reproductive issues, and birth defects.
Trichloroethylene (TCE) was widely used as an industrial solvent, and marines used it in motor pools and maintenance shops to clean engines, weapons, vehicle parts, and aircraft equipment. As you can guess, the solvent was dumped in the ground, in unlined pits, and down drains. Because TCE originated primarily from on-base military operations, it was the main culprit. Barrels of it were stored in supply yards, and leaks and spills seeped into the soil. Due to a lack of safeguards, the spills infiltrated the sandy ground and contaminated the groundwater that fed the wells. TCE is defined as a carcinogen and is linked to kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and Parkinson’s disease. At the camp, the highest level of contaminated U.S. drinking water ever to be recorded was found in the Hadnot Point wells. What began as a proud symbol of Marine strength became a place remembered as much for its hidden dangers as for its history - dangers that still haunt those who lived, trained, and were born there.
The Human Cost
For Marines and their families living at Camp Lejeune, their most significant danger came from their own water supply. Veterans face a wave of devastating illnesses and, too often, early deaths that cut lives short after service. There was no escaping the exposure. It was in the uniforms they wore, the showers they took after one training day, and the meals they cooked for their families. Every part of daily life carried traces of toxins that no one could see, smell, or taste. Even though the Marine Corps was aware of the contaminants in 1982, the contaminated wells were not shut down until 1985. During this time, the government failed to notify their personnel and families that has exited the base. It wasn't until 1997 that Dan Rather first brought this situation to the public’s attention. As Dan put it, “Camp Lejeune may be the worst example of water contamination this country has ever seen.”
It wasn’t until July 1984 that individual wells were tested for contamination, and it resulted in ten of the forty wells tested being affected; “eight at Hadnot Point and two at Tarawa Terrace tested positive for both TCE and PCE, and all wells at Hadnot Point had some level of benzene.”(journal.ala.org)
These contaminated wells weren’t disbanded until November 30, 1984, to February 8, 1985; however, they were still intermittently used through 1987 to supplement low water levels (Journals.ala.org). Keep in mind that between 900,000 and 100,000 marines, family members, and civilian workers might have been contaminated from the Hadnot and Tarawa Terrace wells. “Most damningly, the 1997 Camp Lejeune PHA (Public Health Assessment) stressed the unlikelihood of adverse health effects on adults and children exposed to TCE and PCE.” (journal.ala.org)
A document released in 1998, entitled “Volatile Organic Compounds in Drinking Water and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes,” analyzed 11,971 birth certificates of children born at Camp Lejeune to determine if there were any correlations with volatile organic compounds. When attempting to gather information from those birth certificates, it was found that they contained little information, and the names were held by the Marine Corps, which was not particularly cooperative. To add insult to injury, the fetal death certificates from 1980-1985 — some of the worst years of contamination —were destroyed under North Carolina law, in line with state law. This left grieving parents without a record and stripped researchers and investigators of the proof they needed to measure this tragedy fully.
Fighting for Justice
Since Dan Rather’s whistleblowing on the issue, multiple articles and “undisclosed Marine Documents” proving contamination spread throughout the country, and those affected were seeking acknowledgment and resolution. Nearly a million people were affected and suffering, and it was time for the government to take responsibility.
In 2012, Congress passed the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act, which granted the VA health benefits to affected veterans and their families, but did not provide a means to sue or seek compensation. They had to rely on VA claims, which are commonly denied. They could not sue due to the Feres Doctrine, a legal precedent that barred active-duty military members from suing the US government for injuries, “incident to service”. Additionally, due to North Carolina’s 10-year statute of repose, by the time people received notification from the government, the statute of limitations had already expired, and the courts repeatedly dismissed the lawsuits on this basis.
In 2022, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) was passed as part of the PACT Act, which overrode the Feres Doctrine and the NC statute of repose exclusively for Camp Lejeune. It also opened a two-year window (2022-2024, later extended to 2026) for veterans, families, and civilian workers to file lawsuits in federal court, but proving contamination in a court of law is problematic for some. It would seem that if you were living or working at Camp Lejeune, it was obvious you were exposed. But sadly, that is not the case. My uncle filed, and although his type of cancer was diagnosed and listed in the act, he was denied compensation and had to file an appeal.
According to this Act, there are two options to choose from:
This elective was established in 2023 by the Department of Justice and the Navy, offering a standardized payout based on the illness and the time spent living in Camp Lejeune. The pros of this option are that payouts can be received in months; however, this option only covers specific illnesses, has capped amounts, and does not include a jury trial. In February 2024, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Justice offered settlements to 96 individuals, with 17 accepting them. (Reuters.com)
For instance, Lori Freshwater's family was stationed on the base in the late 1970s and early 1980s and had filed three lawsuits on behalf of herself and her family. Her mother was diagnosed with leukemia and died before she could even share her story due to litigation restraints. After growing tired of waiting for litigation, she elected the EO settlement option, and per her attorney, Attorney Hunter Shkolink, this option ”offers are fair and are the best option for many of his clients, who are elderly and suffering from serious health problems”. (Reuters.com) Even still in 2024, 600 of the cases he filed under this option had not received any of the offers.
This option requires claimants to prove they were stationed at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more between 1953 and 1987 and that their illness is linked to the contaminants. To establish causation, they would need to provide service records, medical records, scientific studies, and expert testimony to confirm that the exposure was sufficient to cause the illness. Additionally, if Department of Justice attorneys deem the evidence unclear, they can request an Independent Medical Exam (IME) to verify the diagnosis and condition. The government selects its doctors to conduct the IME, medical record review, and provide a written opinion. The pros to this option are potential for higher payouts, and the glaring con is the speed, as the trials are expected to start this year, which requires more evidence, government attorneys hitting the plaintiffs hard, and accruing attorney fees.
According to the Lawsuit Information Center, the Department of Justice uses delays as a strategy to minimize payouts.” These extra loops the claimants have to jump through are problematic, as most of them are very sick or dying before they go to trial. For instance, Richard Coley was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at age 66. He filed his claim 16 months before his death and, unfortunately, was unable to receive compensation and overdue recognition. Unfortunately, if the claimant dies before going to trial, their estate can file a wrongful death claim, but the government is not making that easy either. It is essential to note that over 500,000 claims have been filed, but fewer than 500 have been resolved to date. (Reuters)
It’s been 41 years now, and a marginal number of people affected have yet to receive justice, compensation, and even the human decency of being treated with respect rather than as a problem. The entire handling of this situation from the start was poor, from the affected being notified almost 10 years after the discovery, the utilization of the contaminated well being used as supplemental water supply two years after it was supposed to shut down, the Marine Veterans and their families who lost babies but could not verify it due to trashed death certificates, and the thousands of people that have died or are still waiting to be compensated for their literal pain and suffering. My uncle is just a mustard seed among individuals fighting for their due.
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