A Veteran’s Mission to Help Others Through Surfing

Local resident Eric Franklin is riding a wave of giving back

Print Title “A Wave of Giving Back”
Published Friday, April 8, 2022
By Bill Abrams

Born in Minnesota, Eric Franklin caught the surfing bug while going to high school in Orange Park, Florida. That is not so unusual, but what Franklin did next in pursuit of his newfound love likely puts him in a category of his own: He joined the Marines. “I was trying to go to school and surf at the same time, and school kept getting in the way,” says Franklin, who spent 18 of his 22-plus-year career stationed “aboard” Camp Pendleton.

Franklin was able to make the move to San Diego because when he enlisted two years out of high school, he signed up for six years, which came with a guaranteed job and rank of E3 at the end of bootcamp, as well as a West Coast option. There was a small chance he could have spent some time at Twentynine Palms, but Franklin had the added incentive of a military family that included the Army, the Navy, and a cousin who followed his father, Franklin’s uncle, into the Marines.

Born in Minnesota, Eric Franklin caught the surfing bug while going to high school in Orange Park, Florida. That is not so unusual, but what Franklin did next in pursuit of his newfound love likely puts him in a category of his own: He joined the Marines. “I was trying to go to school and surf at the same time, and school kept getting in the way,” says Franklin, who spent 18 of his 22-plus-year career stationed “aboard” Camp Pendleton.

Franklin was able to make the move to San Diego because when he enlisted two years out of high school, he signed up for six years, which came with a guaranteed job and rank of E3 at the end of bootcamp, as well as a West Coast option. There was a small chance he could have spent some time at Twentynine Palms, but Franklin had the added incentive of a military family that included the Army, the Navy, and a cousin who followed his father, Franklin’s uncle, into the Marines.

Members of The Pendleton Surf Club

Between 2012 and his retirement, the club not only staged surf contests for the local military, they also started volunteering with the VA Summer Sports Clinic and the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project.

The VA Summer Sports Clinic is a remarkable week-long program that enables disabled veterans who suffer everything from lost limbs to brain injuries and PTSD to partake in a variety of outdoor activities, including a day of surfing for all involved. “First and foremost, our goal was to get them in the ocean, and then to stand up and surf,” says Franklin.

At about the same time, Franklin heard the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project was looking for volunteers to help with surf camps for disabled kids. “So, a couple of buddies and I would go down to Moonlight Beach to help out,” he says.

Between 2012 and his retirement, the club not only staged surf contests for the local military, they also started volunteering with the VA Summer Sports Clinic and the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project.

The VA Summer Sports Clinic is a remarkable week-long program that enables disabled veterans who suffer everything from lost limbs to brain injuries and PTSD to partake in a variety of outdoor activities, including a day of surfing for all involved. “First and foremost, our goal was to get them in the ocean, and then to stand up and surf,” says Franklin.

At about the same time, Franklin heard the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project was looking for volunteers to help with surf camps for disabled kids. “So, a couple of buddies and I would go down to Moonlight Beach to help out,” he says.

In addition to his role as president of the Pendleton Surf Club, Franklin is now also a board member of the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project, and is quick to credit all he’s learned to his work over the years with other organizations including the Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club, Swami’s Surf Club, and the California Surf Museum.

Jon Peterson, Eric Franklin, and Mike Redman, president of the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project

Franklin, who now resides in Carlsbad, has a 25-year-old son, Skylar, who also lives in the area, and while COVID has put a damper on many activities, Franklin and The Pendleton Surf Club are looking forward to taking part in a series of surf camps for kids with disabilities hosted by the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project at South Ponto Beach beginning in June.

It is a program funded entirely by community support and the volunteer efforts of people like Franklin, who, though retired from the Marines seven years ago, continues his service to this day.

Image Credits Eric Franklin: Photo by Vincent Knakal; All other Photography: Courtesy Photography

Article courtesy of Ranch and Coast.