A Granddaughter's Mission: Uncovering Camp Lejeune's Water Contamination Secret

Leo Case, a decorated World War II veteran, was one of the first to be exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Sadly, he passed away from multiple cancers at the age of 58. His granddaughter, Jessie Hoerman, an attorney from St. Louis, has been on a mission to prove that her grandfather's illness was linked to the tainted water supply. Over the past two years, Jessie has collected a massive archive of records. She has searched eBay, antique stores, and national archives for documents like muster rolls and phone directories. Her goal? To strengthen not just her family’s claim but also those of thousands of other veterans and their families affected by the water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

The water contamination case is one of the largest in U.S. history, affecting up to 1 million people who lived or worked there from 1953 to 1987. The chemicals found in the water—trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and benzene—are linked to severe health issues, including cancers. Leo Case died from bowel, colon, liver, and lung cancer. A Veterans Administration hospital in Syracuse, New York, conducted a postmortem but found no hereditary or infectious causes. Jessie’s dedication was sparked by the PACT Act of 2022, which expanded benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. She aims to share her findings with other families to help bolster their cases. “I want to go and find these families,” she said. “I want to give these hard copies back.”

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