Semper Fi: Always Faithful Trailer from Rachel Libert on Vimeo.
Inspiration for Semper Fi: Always Faithful
Originally published in the Huffington Post.
Serendipity is often the starting point for documentary films and this was certainly the case with my film Semper Fi: Always Faithful. Nearly four years ago, my Co-Director Tony Hardmon and I were researching a documentary film about an innovative public health program when we met the sister of a man named Jerry Ensminger. She told us that her brother was in the process of exposing water contamination at a Marine Corps Base and she was looking for filmmakers to document it. We were skeptical but she laid out this incredible story of intrigue, heartbreak and betrayal. It piqued our interest enough that we showed up in Washington, DC two weeks later and met a gruff retired Marine on the mission of his life.
Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger was a devoted Marine for nearly 25 years. As a drill instructor he lived and breathed the "Corps" and was responsible for indoctrinating thousands of new recruits. Jerry moved to North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in 1975 when his wife was pregnant with their second child Janey. When Janey was six years old she was diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia. Despite countless excruciating medical procedures and a tireless desire to live, Janey succumbed to her disease when she was only nine years old. Jerry's world collapsed and he was left with the nagging question "why?" He began a relentless search for answers in 1997 upon hearing a local news story on the issue, which led to the discovery of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history.
The drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune had been highly contaminated by carcinogenic chemicals for nearly thirty years. It's estimated that nearly a million Marines and their families drank, bathed and cooked with this water between 1957 and 1987.
Semper Fi: Always Faithful follows Jerry as he fights for justice on behalf of the Marines and their families exposed to these deadly toxins. In the process, we also witness this dutiful soldier transform himself into the activist he never imagined he'd become. We felt that this was a unique opportunity to tell the story of an environmental disaster from a very personal perspective.
When we first learned about the situation at Camp Lejeune, we were surprised that the water was contaminated for such a long period of time and that the Marine Corps hadn't notified former residents of their exposure to carcinogenic toxins until 2008. When we dug deeper and learned that the United States Department of Defense is our nation's largest polluter, we knew that this was an important story with far-reaching repercussions.
This issue does not just affect military personnel and their families. At the same time that we were documenting Jerry's efforts to raise awareness about Camp Lejeune, the Department of Defense was fighting for exemptions from environmental laws and battling with regulators over the safe standards for some of the most common contaminants found in this country. There are over 130 military sites on the EPA's National Priorities List for clean-up. At some of these sites, toxins have spread from the military base into neighboring civilian communities.
While making the film, I began to see that the Department of Defense is behaving the way that most polluters behave. They often bury their head in the sand and hope that no harm comes from what they've done. I think the difference here is that we expect more from our government than from private industry.
In many ways, the story of Semper Fi: Always Faithful is a classic David and Goliath tale and it was this conflict and heroism that initially attracted us. When we began making the film we were somewhat cynical about how much one man could achieve when fighting the U.S. government. Jerry and his team have dispelled any doubts that we had. We hope the film illustrates that social change is possible especially when undertaken by relentless and determined individuals.
Semper Fi: Always Faithful premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on Thursday April 21, 2011 and will screen three additional times during the festival.
Contamination at Camp Lejune
WHAT HAPPENED
Between 1957 – 1987 an estimated 750,000 to 1,000,000 people may have drank and bathed in tap water containing extremely high concentrations of toxic chemicals at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It is believed to be one of the largest water contamination incident s in US history.
Leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, waste disposal sites and waste from an off-base dry cleaning business were identified as the sources of the contamination. Over 70 chemicals were found in the water, including benzene, vinyl chloride and trichloroethylene (TCE), three known human carcinogens, in addition perchloroethylene (PCE), a probable carcinogen.
One of the most toxic contaminations in the country began in 1957 and continued through 1987 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Marines and their family members consumed or used contaminated water containing various volatile compounds for years. According to the St. Petersburg Times, a regulation on the books of Camp Lejeune shows the Corps knew the danger organic solvents posed as early as 1974. The paper reported that the news went public in1984.
The Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011 was proposed as a way to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any illness acquired by veterans and family members who suffered effects from contamination. In June of 2011, the bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with bipartisan support. However, since September, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) has faced stiff opposition from military and veterans groups, Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs regarding his method to fund the bill.
To pay for the bill, Burr included a provision that would remove the appropriations that help cover the cost of the Defense Commissary System and would fold the commissaries in with the military exchange system. This would effectively eliminate the discounted grocery benefits many service-members and their families rely upon.
Currently, the bill is on the Senate editorial calendar, awaiting debate on the Senate floor. A major push for the legislation has been provided by an upcoming documentary, Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon’s Semper Fi: Always Faithful.
While legislation rests in the hands of Congress, we should rely on each other more than ever to keep the faith and help one another. Semper Fidelis.
Originally published in the Huffington Post.
Serendipity is often the starting point for documentary films and this was certainly the case with my film Semper Fi: Always Faithful. Nearly four years ago, my Co-Director Tony Hardmon and I were researching a documentary film about an innovative public health program when we met the sister of a man named Jerry Ensminger. She told us that her brother was in the process of exposing water contamination at a Marine Corps Base and she was looking for filmmakers to document it. We were skeptical but she laid out this incredible story of intrigue, heartbreak and betrayal. It piqued our interest enough that we showed up in Washington, DC two weeks later and met a gruff retired Marine on the mission of his life.
Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger was a devoted Marine for nearly 25 years. As a drill instructor he lived and breathed the "Corps" and was responsible for indoctrinating thousands of new recruits. Jerry moved to North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in 1975 when his wife was pregnant with their second child Janey. When Janey was six years old she was diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia. Despite countless excruciating medical procedures and a tireless desire to live, Janey succumbed to her disease when she was only nine years old. Jerry's world collapsed and he was left with the nagging question "why?" He began a relentless search for answers in 1997 upon hearing a local news story on the issue, which led to the discovery of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history.
The drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune had been highly contaminated by carcinogenic chemicals for nearly thirty years. It's estimated that nearly a million Marines and their families drank, bathed and cooked with this water between 1957 and 1987.
Semper Fi: Always Faithful follows Jerry as he fights for justice on behalf of the Marines and their families exposed to these deadly toxins. In the process, we also witness this dutiful soldier transform himself into the activist he never imagined he'd become. We felt that this was a unique opportunity to tell the story of an environmental disaster from a very personal perspective.
When we first learned about the situation at Camp Lejeune, we were surprised that the water was contaminated for such a long period of time and that the Marine Corps hadn't notified former residents of their exposure to carcinogenic toxins until 2008. When we dug deeper and learned that the United States Department of Defense is our nation's largest polluter, we knew that this was an important story with far-reaching repercussions.
This issue does not just affect military personnel and their families. At the same time that we were documenting Jerry's efforts to raise awareness about Camp Lejeune, the Department of Defense was fighting for exemptions from environmental laws and battling with regulators over the safe standards for some of the most common contaminants found in this country. There are over 130 military sites on the EPA's National Priorities List for clean-up. At some of these sites, toxins have spread from the military base into neighboring civilian communities.
While making the film, I began to see that the Department of Defense is behaving the way that most polluters behave. They often bury their head in the sand and hope that no harm comes from what they've done. I think the difference here is that we expect more from our government than from private industry.
In many ways, the story of Semper Fi: Always Faithful is a classic David and Goliath tale and it was this conflict and heroism that initially attracted us. When we began making the film we were somewhat cynical about how much one man could achieve when fighting the U.S. government. Jerry and his team have dispelled any doubts that we had. We hope the film illustrates that social change is possible especially when undertaken by relentless and determined individuals.
Semper Fi: Always Faithful premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on Thursday April 21, 2011 and will screen three additional times during the festival.
Contamination at Camp Lejune
WHAT HAPPENED
Between 1957 – 1987 an estimated 750,000 to 1,000,000 people may have drank and bathed in tap water containing extremely high concentrations of toxic chemicals at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It is believed to be one of the largest water contamination incident s in US history.
Leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, waste disposal sites and waste from an off-base dry cleaning business were identified as the sources of the contamination. Over 70 chemicals were found in the water, including benzene, vinyl chloride and trichloroethylene (TCE), three known human carcinogens, in addition perchloroethylene (PCE), a probable carcinogen.
Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011
One of the most toxic contaminations in the country began in 1957 and continued through 1987 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Marines and their family members consumed or used contaminated water containing various volatile compounds for years. According to the St. Petersburg Times, a regulation on the books of Camp Lejeune shows the Corps knew the danger organic solvents posed as early as 1974. The paper reported that the news went public in1984.
The Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011 was proposed as a way to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any illness acquired by veterans and family members who suffered effects from contamination. In June of 2011, the bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with bipartisan support. However, since September, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) has faced stiff opposition from military and veterans groups, Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs regarding his method to fund the bill.
To pay for the bill, Burr included a provision that would remove the appropriations that help cover the cost of the Defense Commissary System and would fold the commissaries in with the military exchange system. This would effectively eliminate the discounted grocery benefits many service-members and their families rely upon.
Currently, the bill is on the Senate editorial calendar, awaiting debate on the Senate floor. A major push for the legislation has been provided by an upcoming documentary, Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon’s Semper Fi: Always Faithful.
While legislation rests in the hands of Congress, we should rely on each other more than ever to keep the faith and help one another. Semper Fidelis.
My Dad was a Marine stationed at Camp LeJeune in the 60's and during this time, my parents lost 4 babies before i was born in 1965. Tomorrow will mark my mother's passing of 3 years due to a rare form of cancer (Soft Tissue Sarcoma). The number one cause of this type of cancer comes from exposure to TCE and PCE chemicals. I am very proud of my Dad for his service to this country and it is amazing how the military would destroy our service men, women and families due to extremely stupid and laziness of how to handle the disposal chemicals and the huge coverup that has taken place over the years. How can they look themselves in the mirror each and every day knowing how they have destroyed so many people lives not to mention caused so much pain and suffering to the very people protecting this country along with their families? The military and US Government want to say that there has not been any harm to the people exposted - ARE THEY KIDDING - Do they REALLY think that WE are that STUPID?
ReplyDeleteSDT, North Carolina