Benjamin T. Ackison

1971 - 2023

Benjamin T. Ackison, Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (Ret), known as Ben or Benny to his family and friends, passed away on December 16, 2023. Born on December 15, 1971, Ben lived an outsized life over his 52 years and made a lasting impact on all those who knew him.

Ben grew up in the mountains of West Virginia and the beaches of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He learned to track, hunt, and shoot from his grandfather, Homer. Ben played a different sport every season and loved to surf in the summers. After moving to Virginia Beach, the family would return frequently to """Camp Joy""", the family cabin in West Virginia, and fill coolers with hunted game. Mischievous from the beginning, Ben challenged his parents, Larry and Barbara, from an early age.

When he grew old enough to earn money, Ben discovered restaurant work where his charm and charisma led to bulging pockets of cash tips. After landing a coveted position at the legendary Steinhilber's Restaurant in Virginia Beach, affectionately known as "Steiny's", Ben became a lifelong student of fine dining and hospitality.

Ben graduated from Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, where he was a standout wide receiver for the football team. Recruited to play at James Madison University, a coaching change before his freshman year led to Ben being cut from the team. Ben was initially rebuffed when he inquired with the new coaching staff about the prospect of walking on, but he refused to give up. Ben acquired clothing that roughly resembled the team""'s training attire and showed up to training camp day-after-day, despite having no locker or official team gear. By the time the coaching staff realized Ben was not actually on the team, he had worked his way up the depth chart and earned a spot on the roster. He later earned a scholarship and a role as a starter and team leader. None of the other players at the time recognized what Ben had done and when he told the story to former teammates decades later, one exclaimed, """you weren't even a walk-on, you were a sneak-on!" This event was representative of Ben's life """ he never quit and refused to let others define him. Ben repeatedly achieved massive success against all odds through perseverance, charisma, and an almost supernatural ability to will his desired outcome into reality.

When Ben off-handedly mentioned to a college professor that he was considering law school, the professor dismissed the idea and suggested Ben was not cut out for such work. Ben took this as a challenge and decided he had to become a lawyer. Ben attended Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, where he worked as a sports agent following graduation from JMU. Evan after his entry into the legal profession, Ben had a penchant for writing his own rules and bucking systems he deemed unreasonable. Regent is a Christian college with a rigid Code of Conduct that students are required to sign and submit as a condition of attendance. Ben reviewed the document, removed the pages he found objectionable, then signed the remainder and submitted it to the administration. A law professor once took exception to Ben""'s classroom attire of boardshorts and sandals and admonished him to """dress for the job you want, not the job you have.""" Ben replied, """I am. I""'ve always wanted to be a professional surfer."""

Upon graduation from law school, Ben continued to work as a sports agent and expanded into entertainment law alongside his friend and mentor Blake Cullen, a former senior executive in the Chicago Cubs organization from whom Ben received a world class education on hospitality and management. Ben worked for the Hampton Roads Admirals hockey team and, at age 25, became the first general manager of the Outer Banks Daredevils, a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league team featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. Ben also co-produced the Jazz on Granby music series, bringing national acts to downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

During these years, Ben developed the cultured palate of an epicurean and created his saying "I don't eat, I dine""¦" to explain his deliberate approach to savoring food and drink when faced with attempts to rush his intentionally leisurely dining style. Exactingly courteous to waitstaff and a notoriously generous tipper, restaurants never minded if Ben lingered at his table longer than the average customer.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Ben heard the call to service and abruptly left his thriving career and comfortable life to join the U.S. Marine Corps and defend his country. Ben shipped to Marine Officer Candidate School in January 2002. After being commissioned as a Marine Officer, Ben was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, where he served as the lead criminal prosecutor. Following his Pacific tour, Ben served at the Pentagon in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

While serving at the Pentagon, Ben""'s daughter, Angelina Rose Ackison, was born. Angelina stole Ben""'s heart and never returned it. Ben held many roles throughout his life """ athlete, lawyer, Marine """ but his greatest love was being a father. In contrast to his sometimes-rough exterior, Ben""'s soft heart was on constant display with Angelina. Whenever Ben and Angelina were together, he restructured his life entirely to spend time and relish her company. His firm parenting style yielded only to Angelina""'s every whim. He attended her dance recitals, took her to daddy-daughter dances, and learned to braid her hair so it would not tangle. He also took her on annual ski trips, taught her to surf and hunt, and exposed her to the finer things in life, such as Hemingway novels, exceptional cuisine, and 1980""'s rap music. Ben was an unabashed """girl dad""" and Angelina was the love of his life.

In 2007, then Captain Ben Ackison was selected to attend George Washington University Law School to study environmental law. After receiving his Master of Laws degree, Ben moved to the West Coast where he was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California. Ben lived in Leucadia, a block from the water at Beacons Beach, and from that point forward described himself as a """Leucadian.""" Ben loved California surfing and some of his favorite moments were riding early morning waves, followed by a long breakfast, with the Surf Posse, a close-knit group of Marine Officers and their young sons.

Ben deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as the Deputy Legal Advisor to First Marine Division, the command unit for all Marine Ground Forces in Afghanistan. At the end of his initial six-month deployment, Ben voluntarily extended his tour and moved closer to the front as the Legal Advisor to Regimental Combat Team 2 (RCT-2). Never one to back down from a fight, Ben spent another six months in Afghanistan advising infantry commanders during combat and counterinsurgency operations. The senior authority in Afghanistan was a NATO organization and the command structure was multinational and politically charged. As a result, the counterinsurgency guidance provided to forward-deployed units was often overly complex, conflicting, and difficult for troops to understand and operationalize. Sensing confusion and hesitation among the units in RCT-2, Ben employed his trademark style of aggressive communication and ownership and eliminated the confusion. """Don""'t worry about the footnotes and the semi-colons,""" Ben instructed, """If the enemy is trying to kill you, other Marines, or civilians, just kill them first. Do the right thing and I will always have your back."""

After returning from deployment, Ben was assigned to lead the criminal defense team at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. Renowned for his ability to grow culture, build teams, and inspire the best in his Marines, he is still affectionately known as "Boss" by those who served under him.

Ben then became the Legal Advisor to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (MLG) where he employed his irreverent style in a staff setting. When a new Chief of Staff toured the headquarters building, he chafed at the sight of surfboards in Major Ackison's office. The Chief of Staff counseled Ben that the boards were unprofessional and directed Ben to remove them from the building. Ben casually replied, "I can take mine out to my car, but what should I do with the General's board?" The Chief of Staff changed the subject and never raised the matter again.

Following his MLG assignment, Ben was selected to attend Marine Command and Staff College at Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. After completing the school, Ben returned to California as the Deputy Legal Advisor for all Marine Forces in the Western United States. Shortly thereafter, he became the senior Marine criminal defense attorney for the Western U.S. As Regional Defense Counsel, Ben once again inspired a committed team of loyal enthusiasts. Military defense attorneys are often subject to powerful blowback from military commands. Ben aggressively protected his team, often risking substantial negative repercussions to his own career. Ben""'s uncompromising support for his Marines quickly reinforced his reputation as an exceptional leader. At his first quarterly training event for all West Coast Marine Defense Counsel, Ben opened by playing a short clip from the movie """The Town""" to demonstrate the culture he intended for the office. In the clip, Ben Affleck""'s character walks in and says, """I need your help. I can""'t tell you what it is; you can never ask me about it later, and we""'re gonna hurt some people.""" Jeremy Renner""'s character responds, """Whose car are we gonna take?""" Every Marine in the room was immediately sold on Ben, his philosophy, and his style of leadership.

Ben""'s irrepressible charm and unorthodox manner may have grated many conventionally minded officers but endeared him to every Marine who worked for him and every commander he served. Beloved throughout the Corps as a brilliant attorney and dynamic leader, Ben was best known as a shrewd maverick who would fiercely protect his Marines. After more than 20 years of service, Ben retired from the Marine Corps in 2021 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Ben was a world class storyteller and lived in a manner that produced world class stories. His ebullient spirit and deep love of life's simple pleasures were equally infectious; he would notice and appreciate a delicious meal, a beautiful day, or a chance encounter. He was magic and could transform any mundane gathering into a celebration of the people who were there. He rescued countless souls from terminal boredom at staff meetings, cocktail parties, and campfires. Ben""'s life was an endless series of improbable coincidences and outlandish plot twists.

Ben loved children and they loved him back. An adept baby charmer, he could woo to sleep the most intransigent screaming infant. He was a de facto uncle to the sons and daughters of all his friends and was known for peeling off with kids to treat them to a meal, during which he would enlighten them with culinary insights and earnest discussion. He would then return them to their parents with a new t-shirt or skateboard and dried ice cream in the corners of their mouths.

Ben is survived by daughter Angelina Rose Ackison, parents Larry Ronald Ackison and Barbara Sue Ackison, eldest brother Larry Ronald Ackison II along with sister-in-law Bonnie Anne Ackison, nephew Garret Logan Ackison, niece Lauren Grace Ackison, younger brother Chadwick Bryant Ackison, younger sister Felicia Nicole Ackison, nephew Jake Remus Armstrong; and all the JMU Dukes, U.S. Marines and other friends and family that had the pleasure and honor to know him.

A memorial service will be held at Tidewater Central Church of the Nazarene in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. with light fare for family and friends to follow.

A closed internment at National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, Virginia will be held for family and fellow Marines on Monday, March 11, 2024.