In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide
Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark reality.
Military.com | By Kelsey Baker and Drew F. Lawrence
Published February 11, 2025 at 6:00am ET
BEAUFORT, S.C. — Tatiana Sowell held her youngest child as she stood amid the rows of white headstones and stately mossy oaks. Her late husband, Logan, was buried in this national cemetery nearly four years ago after taking his life and ending what his widow describes as a ruinous tenure in one of the U.S. military’s most iconic jobs: Marine drill instructor. He was 33.
Nearby, her other children spotted a coin, regarded within the armed forces as a symbol of respect, resting atop his grave. Perhaps, she thought, it was left there by someone who worked with him molding new Marines at Parris Island, just south of here.
Sowell, her gaze wistful, reflected on the times she had driven Logan to work. “It was just quiet,” she recalled. “Peaceful.”
Logan Sowell’s suicide in July 2021 is one of at least seven in the past five years involving the Marine Corps’ stable of drill instructors, according to military casualty reports obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. In 2023, three occurred at Parris Island within less than three months.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/investigations-and-features/2025/02/10/one-of-marines-most-iconic-jobs-stunning-pattern-of-suicide.html
