Red Dragonfly 'Veteran Awareness Mission' Set to Land at Camp Lejeune (VIDEO)

Operation Red Dragonfly is a Marine/author/reporter's mission to cross the USA educating Veterans about the health risks they face due to military service.

This photo of Marine Corps Veteran Jim Fontella might be the most chilling reminder of what life has been like for warriors faced with unprecedented disease rates. One keen example; male breast cancer.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Camp Lejeune stands out as the focal point for military base contamination in the United States. The toxic nature of this Marine Corps reserve speaks volumes about the environmental state of military bases, and the position of the US government with regard to this subject, which is one of evasiveness and denial.

Water at this expansive North Carolina infantry base has been steadily contaminated with toxins including PCE (Perchloroethylene) and benzene for decades, the Marines probably never would have disclosed it. Instead of having a choice, they were forced to reveal the deadly cancer-causing water after a retired Marine Master Sergeant named Jerry Ensminger watched his little girl die from cancer, and then discovered after her death, that Camp Lejeune's water was to blame for her sad loss. Jerry was a force to be reckoned with, and along with others like Mike Partain, a male breast cancer victim of Camp Lejeune, he forced this reality into the spotlight. MSNBC even ran a major documentary about Jerry and his work and it has reached many Marines, yet still too few know.

Too many are still living in the dark, and the Marines are the nation's smallest service. One can imagine this knowledge is only the tip of the iceberg.

Operation Red Dragonfly is a situational awareness mission designed to reach Veterans who served at contaminated military bases. I have been writing about the contamination of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Camp Lejeune Marine base steadily for more than five years. My fellow writers including Robert O'Dowd, have examined the condition of other US military bases domestically and abroad, and it is time for military Vets to know the truth about the dangers they face.

This outreach is more than important, it has the potential to save lives. When people are afflicted with illness, time means everything.

I chose this voluntary role after having served in the military and surviving to now warn others. We believe few problems facing Americans are larger than the hidden dangers posed by deadly toxins.

Many are already helping, one significant person is Sheree Evans in Missouri, she is the east coast contact person for 'Operation Red Dragonfly'. You can write to Sheree at evasher6@cebridge.net if you are interested in seeing this event come to your city or town.

People and organizations who have contributed include Kevin Saunders, Leonard Lawrence, Dennis Paterka, Karin Rougeau, Charlie Smith, Jean James, Bob and Donna Collinsworth, Robert and Grace O'Dowd, Al Hayward, James Frederickson, Michael Rawlings, Gary Bennett, Veterans United for Truth, EnyaDreamz Productions, the King family, Sacramento Motorcycle Rentals, and several other are already stepping up. It is time to think outside of the box, time to reach out in person. We believe this is a cheap and effective approach that will gain measurable ground in our fight to save lives.

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More background:

Tim King's Cross Country Ride for Veterans Health

Operation Red Dragonfly Brings Hardcore Veteran Health Outreach to America

Operation Red Dragonfly - Former Marine Will Cross Country for Veteran's Health

Road Warrior Crossroads: Taking Veteran's Issues to the Street

Provided by Leslie Jeanne and Camp Lejeune Survivors of Water Contamination

Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

You can write to Tim at this address: tim@salem-news.com.

Visit Tim's Facebook page (facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter)

With almost 25 years of experience on the west coast and worldwide as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor, Tim King is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980's.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and was presented with a 'Good Neighbor Award' for his reporting, by the The Red Cross.

Tim King reporting from the war in Iraq

Tim's years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions; he has rallied for a long list of cultures and populations and continues to every day, with a strong and direct concentration on the 2009 Genocide of Tamil Hindus and Christians in Sri Lanka. As a result of his long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people, Tim was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. This is the largest annual gathering of North American Tamils; Tim addressed more than 3000 people and was presented with a traditional Sri Lanka ‘blessed garland’ and a shawl as per the tradition and custom of Tamil Nadu

In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005. Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 23+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide; and maintains that the label 'terrorist' is ill placed in many cases; specifically with the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, where it was used as an excuse to slaughter people by the tens of thousands; and in Gaza, where a trapped population lives at the mercy of Israel's destructive military war crime grinder. At the center of all of this, Tim pays extremely close attention to the safety and welfare of journalists worldwide.