Call it ‘Camp Luh-jern’

[TommyGun]

To be honest, I'm getting sick of being told that I'm misprouncing the name Lejeune. I've been in the Marine Corps for almost 20 years, and I have never.....not once.....heard of any Marine pronounce it "Luh-Jern". Although that may be the original way to pronounce it, I've heard it pronounced the "regular" way for an entire career. I'm not mispronouncing the name. That is the way it was taught to me and that is all you still hear today....almost 20 years later.

[hawk71049]

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Originally Posted by TommyGun

To be honest, I'm getting sick of being told that I'm misprouncing the name Lejeune. I've been in the Marine Corps for almost 20 years, and I have never.....not once.....heard of any Marine pronounce it "Luh-Jern". Although that may be the original way to pronounce it, I've heard it pronounced the "regular" way for an entire career. I'm not mispronouncing the name. That is the way it was taught to me and that is all you still hear today....almost 20 years later.

Well, like you said TommyGun, I to was taught the way you pronounce it was... "Luh-Joon" I assume that is what you are referring to as… the old way.

So, on that word... I did look it up, and found the attached quoted in the Leather Neck Magazine. We are in fact incorrect; I will now pronounce the name of our base as ... Luh- JERN.

So, in respecting the family and the General (and what I believe the Marine Corps is trying to get back to, some good old basic roots) I think I am not too old of a dog… to be taught a new trick here and there, besides I recall A quote from Emerson, that went something like this.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." That then would appear to be honoring our tradition, as it once was, then let it be so, I say… hawk

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[SSgtAllen3381]

I will call it what I've always heard it called. CAMP LAJOON.

Seriously, how are "we" disrespecting the man and his family for mispronouncing the name? I'm sure he won't mind.

This thing shouldn't even be an issue.

[hawk71049]

Originally Posted by SSgtAllen3381

I will call it what I've always heard it called. CAMP LAJOON.

Seriously, how are "we" disrespecting the man and his family for mispronouncing the name? I'm sure he won't mind.

This thing shouldn't even be an issue.

Did you read the article in the Leather Neck article that I used a referance? Just a part of it is provided below.

“Respect” is the issue down in Pointe Cou**pee (pronounced pon kupee) Parish, La., where the citizens, including nearly 200 descendants of the general’s family, have for two centuries pronounced the family name Luh-JERN, albeit spelled Lejeune. Today’s Lejeune family traces its heritage back to the Jean Baptiste Lejeune family. Louisiana is “gyrene” territory, with six Marine generals hailing from the bayous, including two Commandants, Ma**jor Gen*eral Commandant John Lejeune, the 13th, and General Robert H. Barrow, the 27th.

If I was taught to pronounce your name SSgt. Align instead of SSgt. Allen would that not cause you to mention this to me that I was mis pronouncing your name? If I continued this would it not be a sign of disrespect?

Well, like I said, in my below post, I have always pronounced it as "Luh-Joon" until I read the article in the Leather neck, which IMHO fairly well explained that out of respect we should pronounce it correctly, simply my thoughts! nothing more or less.

Do as you will SSgt. Allen……..hawk

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[SSgtAllen3381]

No, I wouldn't see it as a sign of disrespect and wouldn't think anything less of you. If you continued to do it, after you knew the correct pronunciation, I would just ignore you.

But, everyone has their right to do what they wish in saying how they wish. I will, like you, continue to say it the way it's been said for years and actually the way it's spelled as well.

Yes, I read the article and I still think too much is being made of this. I respect what you are saying, but this is really a non-issue.

Have a good one.

[CommunityEditor]

Lt. Gen. John Archer Lejeune is one of the Corps’ all-time heroes, a legendary leatherneck who became the first Marine to lead an Army division, and who later ushered in a new era of amphibious warfare.

So why can’t Marines pronounce his name the same way he did?

That question has been raised by a growing number of veterans, Lejeune family members and some active-duty Marines, who wonder why Camp Lejeune, N.C., the base named in the late general’s honor, isn’t pronounced “Camp Luh-jern,” using the same French-Creole pronunciation preferred by the Baton Rouge, La., native.

“We all pronounce our name ‘Luh-jern,’ and that’s what we’re trying to make clear,” said John Lawrence Lejeune, 82, a distant cousin of the former commandant who lives in Baton Rouge. “It would be greatly appreciated if it was done so.”

Over the last few months, the group has ramped up the campaign to “take back” the Lejeune name. They’ve contacted Commandant Gen. James Conway, written articles published in Marine publications and paid for posters and banners displayed at Camp Lejeune this summer.

One of the posters welcoming deployed Marines back to Camp Lejeune showed a hand-drawn likeness of Lt. Gen. Lejeune along with this plea:

“Welcome home ... to the most disciplined and aggressive fighting force the world has ever known! And Marines ... say and speak my name correctly: Luh-JERN. Semper Fi!”

A 30-foot-wide billboard with the same theme was hung outside Lejeune’s main gate around April, but it has since been taken down, base officials said.

Retired Col. John Bates, executive director of the Armed Services YMCA in Honolulu, said the common “Luh-June” pronunciation has “always kind of hung in my craw,” considering the way Marines pride themselves on their sense of history.

“Our culture is a little bit different, and now it’s a matter of pride and respect for John Archer Lejeune,” said Bates, a three-time Purple Heart recipient stationed at Camp Lejeune before deploying to Vietnam. “It’s just the right thing to do to get everybody back on track.”

Advocates of the “Luh-jern” pronunciation said many old-Corps veterans pronounced the name the same way Lt. Gen. Lejeune did, but that things became lax over the last few decades due to a lack of awareness.

“It’s not a revolutionary thing, it’s an evolutionary thing,” Bates said, adding that Conway told him he, too, is behind the “Luh-jern” effort.

“The commandant said, ‘Yes, I know it’s supposed to be Camp “Luh-jern,” and we’re going to fix that,’” Bates said.

A spokesman for Conway, Lt. Col. T.V. Johnson, said he is unaware of any formal plan to address the matter.

“The commandant believes deeply in our history and our tradition,” Johnson said. “If historical data reflects that that is indeed how to pronounce the general’s name, then I’m sure the commandant is in support of that.”

Col. Richard Flatau, base commander, could not be reached for comment. Several sources said he tends to use the family’s preferred pronunciation but does not correct others who do not.

There are at least nine or 10 active-duty Marines and corpsmen named Lejeune now serving with the Corps, including a few based at Camp Lejeune, said 1st Lt. Philip Klay, a base spokesman. A direct descendant of Lt. Gen. Lejeune’s family is deployed to Iraq as a first lieutenant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, and was unavailable for comment.


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...ename_092908w/



VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

[Gunny08]

I say pronounce it any way you want. In my early days by the way, the old-timers pronounced it somthing like 'Lehscherne', not 'Luhjerne'. As long as we know what we're talking about, what difference does it make? This being an 'American-English' speaking country, we tend to screwup and bastardize all manner of foreign words. Take for example, 'Lima, Ohio and 'Leema', Peru. Hell, even the natives don't pronounce New Orleans correctly.

[Lone_NCO]

If anybody asks I'd just say North Carolina, 2nd Marcordiv or 2nd MLG lol. I understand the respect issue, but I just can't imagine NCO's sitting there Marines down in PME's for practice saying Luh jern....I know we have more important things to do then that, PFT, CFT, MOS learning, helping PT our Marines so they dont get kicked out under the new BCP standards, etc

Great man, dont care about this though. I am sure that he is not turning over in his grave about this. His family better just deal with him being idolized throughout the Marine Corps.

[MACHINE666]

This has to be one the most inane threads to merit discussion yet - the pronounciation of a name? Let's get real!

But okay - I'll humor everyone here for a moment. The name "LeJeune" is French, is it not? Having taken 2 years of high school French, and living near the French/German border currently, I have learned that a native speaker would look at you funny if you pronounced that name as "Le-Jern" or whatever this ridiculous thread is about. Like speaking any language, there are various dialects depending on the region of the land where it is spoken - and believe me learning the textbook "high German" is alot easier to understand than the local "Pfalzish" way of speaking here. Unless you're going to be rubbing elbows with his next of kin anytime soon, I recommend pronouncing it the way most people can understand, and that's the way it has been reinforced. We're not Rhodes scholars here for crying out loud....

[TommyGun]

Apparently it merits discussion in the 'Marine Corps Times' and in 'Leatherneck"...which is why I started the thread. Agree with most of you that it is a non-issue. I don't think it will ever change back....nor do I think it should be. Its probably been called "Luh-Joon" far longer than it was ever called "Luh-Jern".