Marine's journey from sand in Iraq to surf in Hawaii

Wounded Marine Bodysurfs to Help Others and Himself
ABC News
Angel Canales
February 26, 2014

Ben Mercier in Baghdad, Iraq. 2006. Ben Mercier

Pyramid Rock Beach, Hawaii — When former Marine Corps Capt. Ben Mercier returned from his deployment in Iraq after being wounded, he said he just didn’t want to be around people. “I was just different. I didn’t know at the time that I had [PTSD] and I was drinking more than I should have,” says 39-year-old Mercier.

He always wanted to join the military. Growing up at the Lemoore Naval Air Station in California, he admired his best friend’s father who was a Marine pilot. After attending ROTC and graduating from college, he joined the Marine Corps in 1999. He went on to become a logistics officer with the 3rd Marine Regiment and served honorably.
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