Therapy Session: A Voice of Inspiration By Amber Robinson Arts & Healing
Marine combat veteran Elliott McKenzie knew from a young age that he wanted to join the Marines. He also knew at an early age he wanted to make music. At five years old, his adopted mother bought him a drum set. From making a lot of racket in the living room, McKenzie went into his high school drum corps and sang in a gospel choir. But despite his obvious musical talent, just days after his high school graduation McKenzie was entering the United States Marine Corps. “Five days out of high school I was standing on those yellow footprints,” said McKenzie. McKenzie entered the service as a 0311, otherwise known as an Infantry Rifleman or Marine “grunt”. After basic training and infantry individualized skill training he was selected for a special detail to protect the president. But, due to issues with his orders he was attached to and trained as part of a Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Teams (FAST), serving six months there, then only serving four months on the presidential detail. In 2005 McKenzie deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. Upon his return he prepared for his next and last duty station in Okinawa, Japan. It was in Japan that he connected with a fellow Marine who helped him reawaken his love of music. “My friends from 1-5 who knew I could sing told me I should link up with this guy when I got to Okinawa,” McKenzie said “they said he made beats and we should get together and make some music.” McKenzie wrote his first song while in Okinawa. Soon, he and several other Marines compiled their talents and together created two full CDs of music. “These were not professional CDs or anything,” McKenzie said, “we just mixed them and burned them onto blank CDs and gave them out to our friends.” But, that amateur experience of writing and producing music was enough to ignite McKenzie’s passion. He left the Marines in 2007, exiting three months early as part of an education program which allowed service members an early out if accepted to an university. McKenzie had been accepted to the well-known Musicians Institute of College. At the age of 22 he left the Marines and entered MI. 16
WWW.HomelandMagazine.com / FEBRUARY 2021
Unaware of how the GI Bill worked McKenzie paid for classes out of pocket. Unfortunately, after six months the financial pressure began to weigh on him, as well as the first signs of PTSD from his tour to Iraq. McKenzie was forced to leave MI a short six months after he started, retreating to where he was raised near Longbeach, CA, moving back in with his mother and brother. That living situation would shortly change. McKenzie’s PTSD began to present as anger issues. One morning as he prepared for work his brother and he got into an argument. The confrontation became heated and culminated with McKenzie wielding a kitchen knife against his sibling. McKenzie ended the argument as he left for work, hurling the knife violently and breaking the family’s TV.