Honor, Courage, Commitment: Always Faithful?

Those of you who know me, know that I served in the Marine Corps, active duty from 1988-1992. I served proudly and I love the Corps nearly as much as I love my country. I don't usually post blogs back to back, but I felt this was really important.

I just watched a documentary called Semper Fi-Always Faithful. It is about the water contamination at Camp Lejeune, which one scientist described as possibly one of the worst in the United States. Contaminants in the Water supply existed from roughly 1953-1987, with some contaminants registering between 80 and 3,400 times above the safe levels. The  drinking water was contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene, and other chemicals.

The presumptive diseases are:

• Adult leukemia
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and
• Parkinson’s disease

According to the Wikipedia listing: "In 2007, Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine master sergeant, found a document dated 1981 that described a radioactive dump site near a rifle range at the camp. According to the report, the waste was laced with strontium-90, an isotope known to cause cancer and leukemia. According to Camp Lejeune's installation restoration program manager, base officials learned in 2004 about the 1981 document. Ensminger served in the Marine Corps for 24 and a half years, and lived for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. In 1985 his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died of cancer"

I had the honor of being one of Top's Marines. I never knew top personally, but had the greatest respect for him. He was a Marine's-Marine. He embodied the principles that the Corps prides itself on... Honor, Courage, Commitment. Always Faithful. I have lost track of a lot of my brothers from the Corps over the years and was excited when I discovered that Top was in the documentary. What I didn't know until I began watching it was that my beloved Corps had failed its Marines. They denied culpability, they hid the contamination, they refused to cooperate and had to be forced to contact the Marines who were stationed there during this time. It simply wasn't on their radar. Top Ensminger however, had decided to follow through with the battle. He had lost his daughter to Leukemia, and as he began to discover what was going on, he decided to fight on behalf of those who needed to be defended. 

In 2014, the Janey Ensminger Act was signed into law, but the fight continues. While care is being provided for the military members, spouses still struggle to get care. Look, I could go on, but watch the documentary. It does a much better job than I ever could. You can watch it on Amazon.com, or from their website, http://semperfialwaysfaithful.com/,  which has vital information you need to know. Did you know 1 in 10 Americans live within 10 miles of a contaminated military site? It might affect you. Even if you live over seas. 

Can you do me a favor? Can you watch this video, share this post and help spread the word? Please help us be Always Faithful, Semper Fi!