PayDirt was a film made on contract and on a rigorous time schedule.

It was made in three segments, focusing on Homebuilding in Hutto, Texas, and military base conversion in California, at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard In San Francisco and at El Toro Naval Marine Air Station in Orange County.

The three segments were given titles, “Bad Soil,” “Dead Men Tell No Lies,” and “Code of Silence.” The backstory in all was and remains highly toxic pollution including arsenic, Trichlorethylene, TCE, and asbestos. Various heavy metals and nuclear materials were found at the later two formerly military installations.

This required first person expertise, and the production team looked to Marie Harrison of GreenAction at Hunter’s Point and Tim King at El Toro.

Tim was a talented journalist and Marine Corps veteran who had embedded with U.S. Marines on several tours in Afghanistan. Working primarily with Salem-News.com, he broke the story on veterans exposure to TCE and other contaminants at his former base, El Toro, and at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina beginning in 2008.

Now deceased, Tim’s commitment to his fellow El Toro Marines may be seen in ‘PayDirt,” “Dead Men Tell No Lies,” and through a collection of early videos for Salem-News.com under the expressive title, “Hell Toro.” Tim will be well remembered.