Tagged: Camp Lejeune

A Camp Lejeune Marine receives the Silver Star Tuesday for his actions of valor in Afghanistan. 

Staff Sgt. Daniel Ridgeway will the get the award during a ceremony on the base.  Ridgeway says he and his men were walking in line toward a stockpile of enemy weapons, which they had been ordered to clear out, when a blast knocked him over.

"My teammate ended up stepping on an IED," Ridgeway says.

Three Marines at Camp Lejeune have been awarded the Air Medal for successfully carrying out a rescue mission in Libya. Military officials awarded the distinguished medals yesterday to Capt. Erik Kolle, Staff Sgt. David Potter, and Sgt. Daniel Howington. The three men rescued a downed pilot near Benghazi during the Libyan civil war in March of 2011. First Lieutenant Robert Martins says the crew traveled 150 miles in less than an hour to rendezvous with the pilot.

An organization that helps wounded veterans is building a center to treat brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder at Camp Lejeune.

Gurnal Scott: The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has raised 11 million dollars for the center. The fund's president David Winters says he worked with defense officials to identify Camp Lejeune and other potential sites.

David Winters: The larger bases where most of the troops are deploying out to and deploying back from overseas duty.

Earlier this week, President Obama signed a law to provide health care to thousands of Marine veterans and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987. Retired Marine Jerry Ensminger was one of them. His daughter died of leukemia he believes was caused by the contamination. For fifteen years, Ensminger has led the fight to get help for sick veterans and their families. And he says it’s not over yet.