Semper Fi: Always Faithful (2011) User Reviews

Roedy's comment

[Joe_schuyler · 8/10 · 8 March 2015]

Roedy's comment display's a fundamental lack of understanding of the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as all military service. Per his comments about the movie being boring: that is an individual opinion that I don't agree with. However, his comments regarding the motivations of service members, why they signed up, or that their decision to serve should make their children suffer (unsympathetically) is beyond revolting.

Roedy has a deep ignorance of the motivation of military members to serve. I, like many of my fellow Marines, felt a calling to serve, to protect our country, our constitution, and our fellow citizens. I wanted to ensure that we, our children, and their children, would continue to enjoy the freedoms that we were blessed with.

There is a big difference between being shot at or being exposed to chemical weapons from the enemy vs. being unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals stateside. It's even worse when leaders that you put your faith in break that trust by hiding the facts for years. This movie helps show this injustice, and helps many Marines and their families understand what happened to them.

A heartbreaking look at the poisoning of our soldiers and their families

[dbborroughs · 9/10 · 8 May 2011]

One of the most important films I saw at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, Semper Fi tells the heartbreaking story about the fight to get the Marine Corps and the American Government to come clean about the contamination of the drinking water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The tainted water (the result of leaks and improper dumping), has been responsible for the deaths and illnesses of thousands of people (soldiers, their families, and civilians alike), over a period of decades.

The film is primarily the story of Jerry Ensminger, who has lead the fight as a means of trying to find closure in the death of his daughter, who died of leukemia while he was stationed at the base. Years later Ensminger, by then retired from the Corps, discovered the existence of the contamination while watching the news on TV. Shocked at what the story revealed he began to look into the matter and found it was just the tip of the iceberg.

When the film started I thought I was simply going to see a typical "lone citizen leading a David (Ensminger) and Goliath (the Marine Corps)" story. I was certain that it was going to be filled with all your typical twists and turns, and that in the end I would be angry until I dove into the next film at the festival. Instead, I was blindsided, and left broken and sobbing in my seat. I had to struggle to find my way to the next screening.

I knew that I was in trouble when I realized that tears were running down my cheeks for seemingly no reason. I didn't expect it. Heck, there wasn't much of anything occurring on-screen, but there was something about the story and how it was being told that was literally wringing tears from my eyes. By the time we got to the sequence where a government commission invites the public to tell what happened to them, to relate the stories of their losses and illnesses, I was damn near sobbing uncontrollably. I dare you not to cry when one mother tells you about the birth and death of two of her children born with birth defects. The first was born with an exposed spine, and the second was born without a top to its skull. It's one of the saddest things you will hear.

I know you're asking yourself, why would I want you to see such a profoundly upsetting film? Because it's affecting the lives of millions of people, many who probably don't even know about it. You need to see this so that you may be moved to try and help someone you know who may also have been exposed to the danger...and not just in Camp Lejeune, but at other military bases as well (remember I said this story is only the tip of the iceberg). You need to see this so that you can help keep safe the very people who are supposed to keep us safe.

This is one of the best films of the year and it's one of the most important as well. Expect to have your feet knocked out from under you.

Please see this film.

Moving and heartbreaking for any American

[shannon-rodden · 10/10 · 30 June 2022]

This is a heartbreaking story for any one to watch much less the daughter of a USMC pilot. Having lived on Camp Lejeune when I was very young with my family (I'm now almost 50) I have had cervical cancer & a radical hysterectomy, My brother has passed from cancer, My child has passed from cancer, My parents both have ailments that are life threatening that have shortened thier life spans starting years ago, my mother had to endure many ... And the list is even longer. This story hit home on soo many levels. I hope and pray every family watches this and feels compelled to make changes! Please look up the website for this documentary. They have soo many resources and information.

Great, honest film.

[kerryfrank73 · 9/10 · 20 August 2018]

I sat with Jerry at the Disease Cluster Alliance conference some years back, where I was provided with the opportunity to view this film. This is not just a story. Rather, this is a journey to a truth that too many Americans face each day with the many cancer diagnosis and rare diseases on the rise, particularly in our military families and more vulnerable populations. If this film doesn't bother you, I doubt much will. For some this movie will simply re-validate what they are already wholly aware of, for others, you can't even begin to imagine. A great resource, that will provide awareness one deserves.

boring boring boring.

[roedyg · 3/10 · 3 January 2014]

Not to be confused with many other movies of the same name.

From 1957 to 1985 the US military dumped toxic waste into the drinking water at Camp LeJune. Many people got cancer and died.

The movie shows various people crying about getting cancer or their loved ones getting cancer and how unfair it all is and how praying for miracles is the best use of their time.

This movie could easily be edited to ten minutes without loss of information.

I feel unsympathetic. These people joined the military knowing full well the military's primary goal is hurting others, not protecting its own. This means exposure to dangerous chemicals. It is part of the job. They volunteered for it in return for a license to kill. The unfairness is children of military personnel paid for their parents' decisions.