Local man follows in family's footsteps in Marines

When local Trevor Erickson dons his U.S. Marine Corps blues, he's fulfilling his life goal to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather.

Erickson graduated from the School of Infantry early in November in Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was recently commissioned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., the oldest post of the corps. This honor has followed by another – a nomination to attend a drill school that could land him a place on the famous Silent Drill Platoon, a 24-man rifle platoon that performs a unique precision drill exhibition.

"The drill platoon is the greatest privilege you could have in the whole Marine Cops," he said.

It will be tough to make the cut, he said. Only 16 to 20 of the more than 70 in the class will earn positions on the platoon.

"It's an even harder school than the Marine Corps," he said.

Erickson joined the Marines at 18 based on a legacy of military service in his family that stretches back several generations.

His grandfather, William Mullins, was in the Marine Corps for 23 years of active duty, followed by another more than 20 years in civilian intelligence service.

He worked his way up through the ranks as a non-commissioned officer to master gunnery sergeant, but was commissioned as a first lieutenant in Vietnam, where he served three tours as an intelligence officer.

Mullins died in 1996 at age 65, when Trevor was 5 and a half years old.

"I brought all of my father's things back home and started going through all of it," said his mother Marilyn Olson said. "He went through it too and saw how devastated I was."

These belongings of her father included swords, slides from his military career, his compass, and all of his service awards and recognitions.

"[Trevor] was young then, but he said he would become a Marine," Olson said. "He was fascinated from an early age."

The loss of his grandfather made him emotionally attached to the military. Olson recalls getting a call from Swan River School after Veterans Day activities when he was in fourth or fifth grade that he was crying. They thought his grandfather had just died.

"Anything Vets related throughout his childhood brought him complete devastation," Olson said. "He's just been emotionally attached to the Marines ever since."

Every male on his mother's side of the family after his grandfather has been in some branch of the military. His biological father was also a Marine.

"Basically the family that I have are military types," Erickson said.

He attended school in Bigfork and then went on to become a certified welder prior to joining the Marines.

Erickson said he still stands behind his decision to join and has a great feeling about his service.

"When a random person walks up and thanks you, it's definitely a good feeling," Erickson said.

His goal for now is to make it through the four-month formal drill school. After that, he'll spend up to another two years in Washington, D.C., and traveling with the platoon.

But eventually, he hopes to get shipped overseas.

"That's the way it is with every other Marine," Erickson said. "It's the thing we've been training to do for the last six months and now aren't able to do it."

Erickson's not complaining though about his new assignment – one of the oldest places in the military branch's history.

"It's definitely great," he said. "Down here, you are the face of the Marine Corps."

He was screened for his assignment to the post during an early week of infantry training. Out of 230 people, 18 were chosen to go to Washington, D.C., and Erickson was one of them.

If he doesn't make the cut for the drill platoon, Erickson will still have plenty of other possibilities for assignments at the post, including firing parties at Arlington National Cemetery and carrying the coffins of returned Marine soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There are still plenty of very honorable jobs," he said.

Seeing her son follow in her father's footsteps has also been an emotional journey for Olson.

"I have a tremendous amount of pride," Olson said. "I know my dad would be extremely proud. He lived it. You eat, breath, and sleep the Marine Corps."