Savannah, Ga., Nov. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Nov. 17, Nov. 18 & Nov. 19, the retired Marine who uncovered the truth about the largest, most lethal drinking water contamination in U.S. history will join other victims and advocates with Camp Lejeune Legal at an ongoing series of town halls in cities across America. The upcoming events with Jerry Ensminger and Mike Partain in Beaufort, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Hilton Head, S.C., are open to the public and will offer information so that those harmed by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina may know their rights.
Ensminger and Partain are both available for interviews in advance of the town halls.
This year, the government finally acknowledged the harms caused decades ago by the pollution at Camp Lejeune. Yet, catastrophic water contamination continues to the present day at military sites across the country, along with attempts by leadership to cover up the harm. Just last year, a jet fuel spill at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii sickened thousands of military family members, yet senior leaders said the water was safe to drink.
WHAT
For decades, high levels of cancer-causing chemicals leached into the groundwater at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the largest Marine base on the East Coast. Indiscriminate dumping of waste into landfills, leaking fuel tanks and other sources of contamination poisoned the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of veterans, their families – including children in-utero – and workers on the advance-force training base, resulting in birth defects and devastating, often fatal illnesses such as leukemia and breast cancer.
For years, the Marine Corps knew about contaminated wells but did not shut them down. Even after the pollution was detected, the Defense Department obstructed efforts to understand the extent of the harm. The government downplayed the dangerousness of the chemicals and failed to inform potential victims of their exposure, so that veterans and their family members did not learn why they had fallen ill until many years after they first got sick.
After decades of political sparring and efforts to silence facts about the scope of the contamination, President Biden in August signed into law the Honoring our PACT Act, which includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. Now, victims who lived or worked for at least 30 days at Camp Lejeune, or who were exposed in-utero, between 1953 and 1987 can take legal action against the U.S. government for their exposure to toxic water on the base.
Nearly 20,000 people living in Georgia and South Carolina have registered with the Marine Corps as having lived or worked at Camp Lejeune in 1987 or before.
WHO
Jerry Ensminger is a true hero and truth-seeker of Camp Lejeune. A retired Marine master sergeant, Ensminger lived on the base with his wife, who became pregnant with their daughter, Janey, in 1975. At 6, Janey was diagnosed with leukemia. She died about two years later. Described as “a force of nature,” Ensminger has dedicated his life to fighting for other poisoned Camp Lejeune victims, testifying in congressional hearings and investigating the contamination even as the government fought against claims from victims seeking compensation.
Mike Partain is the son of a Marine. He was conceived and born at Camp Lejeune. Partain joined the fight for Camp Lejeune victims after he was diagnosed with male breast cancer at age 39. He has worked tirelessly to uncover the true story of the contamination and locate other men who developed breast cancer after spending time on the base. Partain and Ensminger were both featured in an award-winning documentary about the Camp Lejeune contamination, “Semper Fi: Always Faithful.”
More information: https://camplejeunelegal.com/
WHEN & WHERE
11.17.22
6 p.m.
VFW Post 8760
37 Castle Rock Rd.
Beaufort, S.C., 29906
11.18.22
6 p.m.
Richmond Hill City Center
520 Cedar St.
Richmond Hill, Ga., 31324
11.19.22
10 a.m.
Marriott in the Sabel Palm Room
1 Hotel Circle
Hilton Head Island, S.C., 29928
