Why we’re saying Lejeune differently than in the past

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — In the wake of a military helicopter crash that killed seven Marines, we’ve gotten a lot of calls and e-mails about how we’re pronouncing the name of their home base in Onslow County.

For years Camp Lejeune has been pronounced as luh-JUNE, and that’s how most of you probably know it.

But a few years ago, a push started to correct the pronunciation to the way the family of Gen. John A. Lejeune, the 13th Marine Corps commandant for whom the base was named, pronounced it. As it turns out, the Lejeune family pronounces their name luh-JERN.

To be honest, it’s taken time for the correct version to get traction, but it has on board Camp Lejeune and within the Marine Corps. We heard it pronounced luh-JERN several times during a news conference on base today about the Marines killed. That confirmed the discussion we had and decision we made here in the WWAY newsroom several weeks back that to be consistent, we would say luh-JERN.

It hasn’t been easy, and we’ve slipped up a few times. After years of doing something one way, it always takes time to reprogram yourself to do it another way. But that’s the answer to what has become an increasingly frequent question.