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
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.
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
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.
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
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.