- http://semperfialwaysfaithful.com/
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036750/#46416462
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036750/#46412938
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Directors/Producers: Rachel Libert and Tony Hardman, Producers: Jedd Wider and Todd Wider executive producers: Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, Judith Helfand. Vice President, Long Form Programming: Michael Rubin Senior Executive Producer, Documentary Production and Development : Scott Hooker Senior Producer : Vicki Sufian Director of Production: Carrie Wysocki Associate Producer: Elizabeth Freedman
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
aired: Feb. 24, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensinger was a devoted marine for nearly 25 years. As a drill instructor, he lived and breathed the Marine Corps and was responsible for training thousands of new recruits. When Jerry’s nine-year-old daughter Janey died of a rare type of leukemia, his world collapsed. As a grief- stricken father, he struggled for years to make sense of what happened. His search for answers led to the shocking discovery of one of the largest water contamination incidents in US history. For thirty years, the drinking water at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base was highly contaminated by toxic chemicals. It is estimated that nearly one million Marines and their families may have been exposed to high levels of carcinogens through the water. 25 years after the wells were finally closed, only a fraction of former residents know about their exposure to the toxic chemicals. SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL unfolds like a detective novel tracking the discovery of the contamination and takes us through present day events as Jerry leads a coalition of former base residents in a fight for justice. Many of them have lost children or are now sick themselves. In the process of investigating the Camp Lejeune contamination a larger issue comes into focus, the abysmal environmental record of the military. The Department of Defense is the United States largest polluter which raises grave questions about environmental conditions at other bases across the country. SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL is a timely and sobering story and is a call to action for more environmental oversight of military sites.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Our film subjects, Jerry Ensminger, Tom Townsend and Mike Partain procured thousands of internal Marine Corps documents — from e-mails and memos to hydrology reports and water testing data. Some of these documents had been posted by the Marine Corps to an online portal that was discovered by Tom Townsend. He and Jerry Ensminger had a dial-up internet connection and spent weeks downloading thousands of documents from this portal. These initial documents revealed that the Marine Corps knew about the contamination of the water supply at Camp Lejeune for several years before they closed the contaminated wells. These documents also revealed a public relations campaign by the Marine Corps to suppress information about the contamination in order to mitigate the damage to the organization. In addition to this online portal, Tom also wrote over 1200 FOIA requests for additional documents. These documents provided the proof that Jerry, Tom and Mike needed to get attention and action by Congress and the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Explain types of human sources used.
We filmed a former Camp Lejenue water treatment plant operator and base firemen who worked closely with the water and the chemicals that contaminated it. They told us about the negligent disposal of toxic chemicals and lax oversight of the water systems. We also filmed the manager of a lab that tested Camp Lejeune’s water and discovered that it was contaminated. The manager told us that he warned the base that there were contaminants in the water and that the base leadership was unresponsive to his warning. We also spoke with several leading epidemiologists who explained the health risks of the primary contaminants at Camp Lejeune and the politics behind the regulation of toxic chemicals. We witnessed the politics at work when we filmed a regulatory panel meeting for the chemical PCE. At this meeting, we filmed representatives of chemical companies urging the panel not to strengthen regulation of this chemical.
Results:
In August of 2012 Congress unanimously passed the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act (which includes The Janey Ensminger Act that is featured in the film). The bill provides health care benefits to veterans and their families made ill from the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune. On August 6, 2012 President Obama signed this landmark legislation into law. In addition to helping those affected by the water contamination, the passage of this legislation sets an important precedent in acknowledging the causal relationship between exposure to toxic chemicals and illness.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Patience and time was critical to the success of this film. We followed this story for nearly four years. This allowed us to capture critical moments as they happened and to create strong relationships with our subjects. As a result, the viewer feels like they are a part of the journey rather than an observer.