Former Marines on Wednesday staged a campaign in front of
the Salem VA Medical Center to let other veterans know that their illnesses
might be related to their time at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Congress in 2012 passed the Camp Lejeune Families Act, which
provides medical treatment for qualifying veterans who were on active duty at
the base for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987, and for their families.
The Department of Veterans Affairs presumes that 15 medical conditions are
related to exposure to toxins in well water at the base.
Curtis Crawford, 56, of Troutville said the Camp Lejeune
Toxic Water Survivors want the list of conditions expanded, and they want the
VA to do more to reach exposed veterans.
“It’s destroyed my
life. I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my home, my business, a little bit of my
dignity, but I’m getting that back,” Crawford said. “Nobody knows to what level
this is. There were over 900,000 Marines, family members, Navy and Army
personnel that were exposed.”
He and William Armentrout, 62, of Covington sat with signs
at the entrance to the medical center under what little shade was offered
mid-afternoon. They had been joined by others earlier in the day, and figured
they had shared information with 20 to 30 veterans.
Crawford said he searched for years to determine why he has
a number of autoimmune diseases and neurobehavioral disorders. He believes they
are connected to the 45 days in 1981 he was at Camp Lejeune. But as a reservist
he said he isn’t entitled to care at the VA. He’s also been denied disability
benefits.
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