Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is named in honor of the highly decorated 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, John A. Lejeune. It is a military training facility located in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
The name, Lejeune, has French origins. In fact, John Lejeune was born at Pointe Coupee, Louisiana. Unfortunately, the name has been mangled through the years by those, including ABC network news anchor (the late) Peter Jennings, who have unknowingly mispronounced it.
WRAL News anchor Charlie Gaddy decided to seek out one of the relatives of John Lejeune and set the story straight. On December 9, 1983 Charlie Gaddy, news photographer Bruce Wittman, and SKY 5 pilot Mike Allen flew to the campus of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia where Lejeune served his final years of military service. Gaddy found Lejeune’s daughter, Laura, living near the campus.
Watch this story and find out, once and for all, how to correctly pronounce Camp Lejeune.