“I am trying to save a life — that’s why we’re doing this.”

That’s the battle cry of Tara Craver, the widow of a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who died of esophageal cancer as a result of his exposure to contaminated water while he was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Craver said she fought four years trying to get her husband’s benefits, which were approved a year after his death.

Contamination at the North Carolina military installation was found to be so widespread that veterans now can receive all their health care, except dental care, from VA if they served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between Aug. 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1987. That is the case even if eligible veterans don’t have a condition presumed to be related to exposure.

While that is the official line of Veterans Affairs, Craver and two other advocates who joined her Wednesday outside the VA Regional Office in Muskogee said the agency has failed to disseminate information about the benefits available. She said disability claims related to Camp Lejeune contamination exposure often are denied or delayed.