He served as a US Marine; they served him toxic water that likely gave him cancer

Proposed legislation is currently under review in the Senate that would provide long overdue support for the veterans, their family members, and civil staff poisoned by toxic water while stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

For more than three decades, water contamination at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune continued unabated, resulting in a myriad of health complications spanning generations of families. Today, these veterans and civilians still await justice, myself included.

From 1953 until 1987, the water supply on Camp Lejeune contained volatile organic compounds (VOC) found at levels up to 3,400 times above permitted safety standards. This is the water families and staff drank, cooked with, and bathed in. This exposure to known carcinogens – trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), dichloroethylene (DCE) – along with other contaminants has been scientifically proven to cause cancers, birth defects, and other life-threatening health problems.

My story is only one of nearly a million Camp Lejeune residents exposed to these toxins right here in the United States.

I was stationed at Camp Lejeune in 1972 and again in 1974. In 2014, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I underwent two surgeries, ultimately resulting in the removal of one of my kidneys. The ensuing health complications have been numerous, severely impacting my overall quality of life.

While on the VA’s website four years after my diagnosis, I happened to see a small note regarding Camp Lejeune and exposure to toxic water. The notice stated that those stationed at the base for more than 30 days during a three-decade period should contact the VA about eligibility for a disability claim if diagnosed with one of eight presumptive conditions. Kidney cancer was on that list.

This marked the first time I had heard of the toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune, more than 40 years after I had been on base.

Despite the proven correlation between toxic water and serious health problems, only veterans and family members who suffer from at least one of just 15 covered conditions are currently eligible for health benefits.

Women who lived on base faced infertility, suffered miscarriages and stillbirths, or gave birth to infants with fatal deformities that they survived but one day in many cases.

Families gave birth to healthy children, who, once exposed to the contaminated water, developed cancers and chronic illnesses. Many tragically passed – so many, that one local cemetery is called “Baby Heaven.”

And yet, our government has continued to fail this population.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act is currently under the Senate’s review for approval under the Honoring Our PACT Act. We need our senators to support their constituents and pass this bill.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to rightfully provide justice for an egregious oversight on a military base on our home soil. This legislation will help to right that wrong.

Whenever I see a fellow Marine Corps veteran, I always ask if they were stationed at Camp Lejeune, because chances are they are likely completely unaware of the contaminated water exposure. If not for my fateful scroll on the VA’s website, I might have never known either.

Those who serve in the military risk their lives for this country. At the very least, we should receive support for this tragedy.

It is the classic tale of the “working man” – those out in the trenches, the ones giving their blood, sweat, and tears to get a job done – are the ones who suffer and sacrifice.

Would we stand by silently if a corporation treated their workers this way?

We must hold the government of the United States to the same level of accountability.

Our veterans and our fellow Americans deserve more.