Gene Eaton was born and raised in a small town in Southwest Virginia, known as Pearisburg, located in the Appalachian Mountains of Giles County. Upon his High School graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served from 1976-1997. He attended basic training at Parris Island, then received orders to his first duty station at Camp Lejeune, NC. He served with the 8th Engineer Battalion in the Fuel Company. While there, he was deployed on two Mediterranean cruises, two Caribbean cruises, and a NATO cruise. He was afforded the opportunity to change his MOS and became a Machinist by trade in 1980. He trained at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD then received orders to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe, HI. There he worked for Maintenance Company BSSG-3. While stationed there, he was deployed on a Westpac Cruise. He then was stationed at Quantico, VA working with Weapons Training Battalion Riffle Team Equipment supporting the Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol Teams. He was then assigned back to MCBH Kaneohe, HI with Maintenance Company BSSG-3. He then deployed to Desert Sheild/Desert Storm. Upon his return, he was assigned to Quantico, VA working scheduling and development at the Staff NCO Academy at the Marine Corps University. He had another return assignment to Marine Corps Base Hawaii working back at Maintenance Company BSSG-3. He was able to return to Quantico, VA and retired in June 1997.
After retiring, he worked Security for Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, VA and then at the Reserve Bank in Richmond, VA. He built his own landscaping company for a few years then returned to Navy Federal as a Senior Security Guard. He retired from NFCU in 2017 and moved with his wife to Myrtle Beach, SC. He started attending missions with the Patriot Guard Riders then quickly became Ride Captain, Assistant State Captain, and then State Captain for South Carolina Patriot Guard Riders. All positions proudly held to honor our Military.
He’s been married 44 years, and they have a son, currently residing in North Charleston, and both PGR members.
