Capitol Hill has become a second home to Jerry Ensminger. The retired marine drill sergeant says he's still fighting for the rights of Americans.

Ensminger: "The Marine Corps has a motto -- 'Semper Fidelis.' That's Latin for always faithful."

But Ensminger and the Marine Corps are now pitted against each other.

Ensminger: "Unfortunately, I found out not only do they not live up to their motto. They won't take care of their own unless you force them to."

The battle is over water -- water that was contaminated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The bad wells were shut down by early 1985. The problem came from a dry cleaning chemical called tetrachloroethylene and a metal degreaser called trichloroethylene.

Simms: "We wanted to visit Camp Lejeune. Our request was denied. The Marine Corps says the contamination has been widely publicized since 1984 when it was discovered and it's an old story. But Ensminger and others couldn't disagree more."

They believe thousands of people could now be ill and Ensminger wants the Marine Corps to admit there's a link. He's trying to force the Corps to notify thousands of people who lived or worked at the base between 1968 and 1985. And he says the Department of Veterans Affairs should be providing health benefits to people like Nick Geiger of Baltimore.

Geiger: "I just feel like I'm getting kicked in the teeth by the government I served... They're waiting for us to either get fed up with it and go away or gradually die off so they don't have to pay the claims."

Ensminger: "I swore I'm not going to let these people get away with this... When you pat me in the face with a shovel and blow taps over me. I said that's when I'll stop this fight or until you do what's right."