Marine vet left with severe health conditions after drinking toxic Camp Lejeune water in 1980s

A former Marine and his family have been left with severe health issues linked to “toxic” drinking water at Camp Lejeune.Elbridge Cleveland, 64, served in the United States Marine Corps between 1979 and 1988.From 1980, he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for six years, alongside his then-wife and their three children.In 1982, the Marine Corps discovered toxic volatile organic compounds in the base’s drinking water, which served around 34,000 people.Elbridge says his health problems began in 1985, when he started experiencing constant headaches and leg pain.Since then, he has been diagnosed with 61 different health conditions – including kidney disease, fibromyalgia, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, skin cancer, mitochondrial disease, cysts throughout his body, and has suffered multiple strokes.He also lost his wife to cancer, his daughter has stage four cancer, and his sons have also developed health issues, which Elbridge believes are linked to the contaminated water.Elbridge, from Lacona, New York, said: “We didn’t know anything about the water being contaminated.“Nobody did until 1987, when they sent out a survey to people who had lived there.“It asked if we had experienced any type of illness, where we lived, and where we drank the water from.“At the time, they didn’t say the survey was due to the contamination, but I knew there was something else behind it.”During his time in the United States Marine Corps, Elbridge was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for six years.He lived there with his ex-wife, and the couple welcomed their three children during that time.“I started experiencing constant headaches, prostate issues, and discomfort in both of my legs,” Elbridge said.“I didn’t know anything about the water being poisoned; nobody did.”Water contamination at Camp Lejeune dates back to August 1953, when the Hadnot Point water system began supplying contaminated water to base residents.By 1981...