Salem native Gregory Williams is struggling to survive several ailments connected to contaminated water he was exposed to while stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in the mid-1970s.
The situation has left Williams sapped of health and nearly crippled.
His family is doing what they can to pay the hospital bills, but they have been forced to launch several recent fundraising efforts to cover the costs.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Williams says. “It’s terrible. The pain is unimaginable, and nothing relieves it. Sleep is the only escape.”
Williams is just one of an estimated one million other service members and their families who were exposed from 1955-1985 to water at Camp Lejeune contaminated by industrial solvents, benzene and other industrial chemicals used for dry cleaning and metal degreasing.
These chemicals have been linked to causing 15 separate conditions, ranging from miscarriages to over a half-dozen different cancers.
The federal government admitted fault for the contamination in 2011 with the passage of the Janey Ensminger Act, written specifically to guarantee treatment to individuals exposed to Camp Lejeune’s bad water and suffering from one of the 15 recognized conditions.
The story of the Camp Lejeune controversy, Janey Ensminger and the signing of the law that bears her name, is documented in the 2011 film "Semper Fi: Always Faithful."
Williams himself has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a condition recognized by the government as linked to the contaminated water. Williams also suffers from amyloidosis, which the government has yet to acknowledge is connected to the Camp Lejeune contamination.
“Aside from treatment at the VA (Veteran Administration), he hasn't gotten much help,” says Williams’ daughter, Dina Morgan, “They did give him a few physical therapy sessions, and a few visits from a home health nurse. The whole thing is really difficult to navigate.”
Morgan hosted a fundraiser at the St. Charles American Legion in March and has also set up a GoFundMe page for her father.
Williams’ plight began in the late summer of 1973 when he left his native Ozark foothills to travel east and join the Marine Corps. It wasn’t an easy time to be a Marine. The Vietnam War was ending and thousands of veterans cast away their uniforms back home for fear of public harassment. Williams, however, was not fazed in his service to his country. He stood tall during this darkest hour and weathered such calamities as the Fall of Saigon.
It was during this time that Williams was stationed at Camp Lejeune from September 1974-April 1975.
Camp Lejeune is one of the Marine Corps’ premier bases and boasts to being the home of the Marine Special Operations command, Marine Expeditionary force, as well as supporting Parris Island, the training facility made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film "Full Metal Jacket."
Williams doesn’t remember being too impressed by Camp Lejeune, and 40 years later he says that the most remarkable thing at the base was the immense amount of standing water and clouds of mosquitos which haunted the grounds.
Williams’ stay at Camp Lejeune would have been only a footnote in his life if it wasn’t for the collapse of his health in 2013.
What started out as a tingling in his foot soon took on the form of acute pain. Williams decided to seek help through the VA, but reports encountering numerous hurdles, including being misdiagnosed as a celiac and forced to go on a gluten-free diet. After seeking a second opinion, he was then accused of “doctor shopping” in order to obtain narcotic painkillers.
“When I go to the hospital, I wish the staff would be more respectful and not have preconceived notions on why I’m in pain and why the medicine doesn’t work,” Williams says. “If they only knew.”
After demanding to see a neurologist, an amyloid was discovered last year after having a nerve biopsy completed at MU, a strange thing given the VA did the same procedure only a year before and their results came back negative.
“I feel that the procedure must have been performed incorrectly, or something went wrong at the lab when reading my results,” Williams says.
It was then that Williams remembered a Dan Rather report on Camp Lejeune, and asked the doctor if his disorder could be related to the controversy.
“Absolutely,” the doctor responded.
He is the last healthcare professional Williams has encountered who was aware of those suffering from conditions brought on by Camp Lejeune’s water.
Stories such as Williams are nothing new to T. White, a Veteran Service Officer who has been dealing with the Camp Lejeune water contamination issue for the past seven years.
“The way the government is handling this, they’re acting like it never happened,” says White. “They don’t want to talk about it. As soon as you bring it up, doors start getting slammed in your face.”
White has added William’s case to the growing list of clients who he's helping to seek restitution.
“I don’t think the government is doing enough,” White says. “The government is the reason these Marines and their families are suffering. They should be notified of what they’ve been exposed to and compensated. They should not have to pay for their needed treatments, medications or transportation to get healthcare.”
Williams reports the VA has conducted a re-review of his claim after contacting U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s office and agreed to pay some of the costs of his treatment. However, this assistance does not begin to cover all the costs, and the family is still in need of financial assistance to cover all the healthcare expenses related to William’s exposure to Camp Lejeune’s contaminants.
More than money, Williams says one of the most frustrating things about his experience is the lack of awareness of the issue.
“Everyone who has potentially been affected should be notified,” Williams says. “The government should be more transparent about the situation. Quit making this such a hush-hush thing. Over a million people were at Lejeune during the time of the water contamination. More people should know about this, especially VA hospital staff. Trying to get help, and trying to get well shouldn’t be so difficult. The VA has a priority ranking system on how important it is to treat a veteran – nine is the lowest priority, one is the highest. Lejeune vets are level six. Their illnesses could be treated sooner.”
White says he admires Williams’ fighting spirit but is saddened by his troubles.
“Greg is going to have a very rough road ahead of him,” White says. “He can still have a good life, but he is suffering and needs all the help he can get.”
Williams family plans to keep supporting him and will continue to raise money for his recovery.
“We raised a fair amount of money at first, but it's kind of fizzled out,” Morgan says. “I need to figure out how to expand beyond the people who have already contributed.”
Williams himself is keeping his short-term goals as realistic as possible.
“Since my diagnosis, I’ve been to the emergency rooms in Rolla and Salem several times,” he says. “And I have been hospitalized five times at the VA. I’ve lost the ability to walk without assistance. The amyloid protein has attacked my nervous system, and I can no longer feel my feet and balance. I weigh 124 pounds and am 5'9". A little over two years ago, I was as fit as a fiddle, weighing 180, working in my excavation business, going fishing and playing with the horses. I wish they’d caught this earlier. I want to live as long as possible. I want to try to become more independent and do things for myself. I figure if double amputees could relearn to walk on new legs, I could relearn to walk on my own.”
For more information on how to make donations toward Greg Williams’ recovery, visit his GoFundMe page at http://www.gofundme.com/savegreg-semperfi