Melania Trump and Usha Vance visit victims of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune

During their first official trip together, First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance visited Camp Lejeune. For those of us who fell victim to the base’s poisoned water and felt ignored for years, their visit offered something we haven’t felt in a long time: hope.

For decades, Camp Lejeune was treated as a tragic chapter in our country’s history. But for the Marines, families and civilians who lived there, it wasn’t a headline; it was our daily reality. It was the place where we built our lives, not knowing that the water we drank and cooked with was quietly poisoning us.

My father, a Marine Corps veteran, moved our family to the base in 1959. Years later, I married a Marine who was also stationed there, and I worked on the base as a civilian for 25 years. Camp Lejeune was home, for me, for my family and for countless others. None of us knew we were being poisoned – and the government did nothing to stop it.

The Camp Lejeune water pollution crisis is one of the worst cases of government negligence in our nation’s history. From 1953 to 1987, more than a million people on the base came into contact with contaminated water. Families like mine drank it, bathed in it and cooked with it for decades.

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Army scientists first discovered contamination in 1980, but officials did not act or warn us. It wasn’t until 1999 that the government began notifying former residents. By then the damage had already been done.

I received my first cancer diagnosis in 1978: leukemia. I beat it, got married and tried to move forward. Then my daughter was born with a spinal tumor. She was later diagnosed with bladder cancer, underwent surgery and was in remission for ten months before dying at the age of 32.

I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1989, colon cancer in 2010 and then breast cancer. In 2023 I was diagnosed with cancer in my breast, kidneys and liver. After a liver transplant in 2024, I have now been cancer-free for almost two years.

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In the midst of these health issues, I also experienced unimaginable loss. My father died of Parkinson’s disease – a condition linked to the toxins found in Lejeune’s water – and in 2014 I lost my husband to lung cancer and melanoma. Five months later we lost our daughter.

Signage stands at the main entrance to Camp Lejeune Marine Base outside Jacksonville, NC, Friday, April 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

My story is painful, but not unique. My family’s story is just one of many. Thousands who lived and served at Camp Lejeune have died awaiting justice.

For years, even basic medical care was out of reach. I was initially denied care by the Department of Veterans Affairs because I was a civilian. My father and husband were Marines, and I lived and worked on base for decades, surrounded by toxic chemicals. But that didn’t matter to the VA.

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It wasn’t until 2012 that Congress passed a law allowing veterans and their families who had spent time in Lejeune to receive care through the VA. But for many it came too late.

Then, in 2022, Congress took an even more important step: It passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which gave those exposed to the contaminated water the right to sue the federal government for damages. It was a long overdue recognition of responsibility and a bipartisan commitment to accountability.

Three years later, that promise remains largely unfulfilled.

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More than 400,000 claims have been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. Less than 900 have been solved.

The same government that poisoned us, ignored warnings, and withheld the truth is now delaying settlements and failing to meet the standard of accountability Congress set.

This is not just a legal failure. It’s a moral issue.

First lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance visit Lejeune High School at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, November 19, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Many Lejeune veterans are elderly or terminally ill; many more have already died. While no amount of money can bring our loved one back, fair settlements can help with medical costs and provide some long-awaited closure.

Congress passed this law because it recognized that government negligence led to the poisoning of nearly a million Americans. Lawmakers understood that we were owed compensation for our suffering and that we had the right to hold our government accountable.

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President Trump has long been a friend to our troops and to our veterans. By encouraging the Justice Department to fulfill the promises of the 2022 law, he could provide real relief to the families who have suffered for decades.

The bill has already been passed with bipartisan support and signed into law. Now we need this administration to direct the Department of Justice and the Department of the Navy to take swift action, review cases fairly, and offer just settlements.

The government has failed us at every step: ignoring warning signs, withholding information, denying care and covering up the truth.

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The recent visit of First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance gave us hope that our voices are finally being heard. For those of us who have fought for decades to gain recognition, gestures like this matter. They remind us that justice – after so many years – can finally be within reach. But hope alone is not enough.

Too many Lejeune veterans have already died waiting for justice, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. The government has a real chance to put things right – and now is the time to take action.