Jul 26, 2022
Lamar Uquhart enlisted in the US Marine Corp in 1981 as a senior in high school and trained as an electrician at Camp Lejeune’s Courthouse Bay where he served until his 1982 deployment to Okinawa, Japan. Uquhart spent his next five years of active service shifting between Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, NC, Okinawa, Japan, and San Diego. Spending his final year in the reserves, Uquhart received an honorable discharge in 1987 for his six full years of service.
In 1983, the US military learned that Camp Lejeune's water contained high levels of toxic chemicals caused by an underground fuel leak. Although the Military knew thousands of marines and their families drank and bathed in contaminated water for decades, Urquhart only learned of his exposure after he began developing health conditions in 2009. By 2017, doctors officially diagnosed Lamar with H-Pylori, a bacterial infection of the stomach commonly contracted from exposure to contaminated water. To date, Uquhart suffers from 23 health conditions, most of which stem from exposure to polluted water. Though thousands of marines were poisoned from the US Military’s negligence, survivors of Lejeune struggle to receive healthcare and general support from the office of Veterans Affairs. Lamar advocates for himself and fellow survivors through social media activity and the advocacy group, Justice for Lejeune.
ATSDR report: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/tce_pce.html
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