Seattle Times Article
February 23
by Beth McRae
By TAYLOR BLATCHFORD - Seattle Times staff reporter
Capt. Benjamin Moulton remembered as steadfast leader in school and service“The best person to be with when you were having the hardest time.”
“A great leader and steadfast friend.”
“A Marine’s Marine.”
That’s how teammates, coaches and classmates remembered Capt.
Benjamin Moulton, a Marine and 2018 University of Washington graduate, during a campus memorial ceremony Thursday.
Moulton and four other Marines were killed Feb. 6 when their CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter went down in the mountains outside San Diego during a routine training flight.
“He was a natural leader, always had a smile, he had a work ethic that inspired his teammates, and was a man that all of us looked up to.”
JON PARHAM Husky Boxing Club coach
The helicopter vanished during a historic storm while traveling from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. The military is investigating the crash.
Moulton was born in Ketchikan, Alaska, and moved to Emmett, Idaho, at 7. He graduated in 2015 from Emmett High School, where he was a member of the football and track and field teams, according to the Idaho Press.
He then attended UW, where he graduated in December 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was a Naval ROTC member.
Around 100 attendees filled a small auditorium on campus Thursday to celebrate Moulton’s life and share stories.
When a housemate realized he might have left his wallet at Snoqualmie Pass, Moulton drove him there at midnight during finals week, a friend recounted.
Another time, he made sure he was in the hospital when a younger ROTC member awoke after a night of drinking that led to an injury.
Moulton was also a member of the Husky Boxing Club, and nobody wanted to spar with him because of his strength, coach Russell Crandall remembered. He was named a captain his second year on the team.
“There was no questioning where he needed to be, and that was in the lead,” Crandall said.
“He was a natural leader, always had a smile, he had a work ethic that inspired his teammates, and was a man that all of us looked up to, myself included,” another coach, Jon Parham, said on Instagram. “He was also a proud Marine. He lit up when he spoke of his service to our country and could not wait to become an aviator.”
Moulton, 27, was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 2019 and promoted to captain in summer 2023, according to the 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing. He had received the National Defense Service Medal.
Commanding Officer Mike Lockwood remembered Moulton as “leading his peers and inspiring his seniors” during his time in ROTC.
“It was an honor to know him, and we are devastated to lose him,” Lockwood said.
Taylor Blatchford: 206-464-2280 or tblatchford@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @blatchfordtr.
“A great leader and steadfast friend.”
“A Marine’s Marine.”
That’s how teammates, coaches and classmates remembered Capt.
Benjamin Moulton, a Marine and 2018 University of Washington graduate, during a campus memorial ceremony Thursday.
Moulton and four other Marines were killed Feb. 6 when their CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter went down in the mountains outside San Diego during a routine training flight.
“He was a natural leader, always had a smile, he had a work ethic that inspired his teammates, and was a man that all of us looked up to.”
JON PARHAM Husky Boxing Club coach
The helicopter vanished during a historic storm while traveling from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. The military is investigating the crash.
Moulton was born in Ketchikan, Alaska, and moved to Emmett, Idaho, at 7. He graduated in 2015 from Emmett High School, where he was a member of the football and track and field teams, according to the Idaho Press.
He then attended UW, where he graduated in December 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was a Naval ROTC member.
Around 100 attendees filled a small auditorium on campus Thursday to celebrate Moulton’s life and share stories.
When a housemate realized he might have left his wallet at Snoqualmie Pass, Moulton drove him there at midnight during finals week, a friend recounted.
Another time, he made sure he was in the hospital when a younger ROTC member awoke after a night of drinking that led to an injury.
Moulton was also a member of the Husky Boxing Club, and nobody wanted to spar with him because of his strength, coach Russell Crandall remembered. He was named a captain his second year on the team.
“There was no questioning where he needed to be, and that was in the lead,” Crandall said.
“He was a natural leader, always had a smile, he had a work ethic that inspired his teammates, and was a man that all of us looked up to, myself included,” another coach, Jon Parham, said on Instagram. “He was also a proud Marine. He lit up when he spoke of his service to our country and could not wait to become an aviator.”
Moulton, 27, was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 2019 and promoted to captain in summer 2023, according to the 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing. He had received the National Defense Service Medal.
Commanding Officer Mike Lockwood remembered Moulton as “leading his peers and inspiring his seniors” during his time in ROTC.
“It was an honor to know him, and we are devastated to lose him,” Lockwood said.
Taylor Blatchford: 206-464-2280 or tblatchford@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @blatchfordtr.