On March 28th, 1989, Justin Eggen was born in West Palm Beach, FL. He is a third-generation palm beach county resident with a deeply rooted family foundation. Justin graduated high school in 2007 and decided to enlist in the military shortly after.
He left for Parris Island to become a United States Marine on Mothers Day 2008. After Recruit Training, Marine Combat Training (MCT), and The Combat Engineer Schoolhouse, he was assigned to 2nd Route Clearance Platoon, Mobility Assault Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division.
In December 2008, he injured his shoulder, which needed reconstructive surgery. After almost a year of waiting, he finally underwent the operation. Within three months of surgery, he was on an Osprey in Afghanistan headed to meet up with his Platoon as a combat replacement.
Upon arriving in Marjah in February 2010, he was immediately assigned to the lead gun truck as a heavy machine gunner behind a .50 Caliber. He would spend the remainder of the deployment operating out of northwest Marjah during Operation Moshtarak.
In April 2011, headed to Sangin Valley (one of the most kinetic areas of operation in Afghanistan), he was the Guide, Lead Gun Truck Commander, and Platoon Navigator for Route Clearance Platoon 2 (RCP2), which was responsible for finding over 79 IED's throughout their seven-month deployment. During his time in Sangin Valley, Mr. Eggen and the rest of RCP2 participated in and were instrumental in clearing the IED threat for both Operation Black Sand and Operation Eastern Storm.
After several years of being out of the military, Justin would struggle with his deployments and the many invisible wounds that come with combat. Realizing these emotions weren't going anywhere, he decided to write. He turned to his pen to paper and wrote a poem. After a couple of months of contemplation, he began to write and produce his first book; 'Outside The Wire: a U.S. Marine's Collection of Combat Poems & Short Stories Volume 1.'
Since the release of his first book, Mr. Eggen has gone on numerous book tours and speaking engagements across the United States, including but not limited to: Emporia State University, NC State, American University, Battlegrounds Coffee, Emmett O'Lunneys in New York City, NY, West Palm Beach Human Resources Coalition Seminar, OEF 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Delray Beach Playhouse, National Museum of the United States Marine Corps, and more.
In the early summer of 2018, he again went on a spoken word book tour called "The Verses & Curses Tour," traveling down the east coast in an RV with David Rose & Leo Jenkins. '"The Verses & Curses Tour" would go on to win the Sacramento Film & Music Festival's Juror Award and Critics Award for Best Documentary in 2019.
In July 2018, upon returning from the tour, Justin Eggen became a father to a beautiful baby boy. Fatherhood is the absolute force that guides Justin.
In 2019 and 2020, he was awarded by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation the Robert A. Gannon Award for poetry for his books "The Art Of Warrior Poetry" (2019) and "The Sun Rises In Helmand" (2020).
In the subsequent four years since the release of his first book, Justin Eggen returned to school and became a college graduate earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University (FAU), has been featured as a Guest Lecturer at FAU registered courses and is the current President of the FAU Veteran Owls as he pursues a graduate degree in Political Science.
In 2020 Justin Eggen launched "Stand To: Change The Narrative Inc.", whose mission is to cultivate creativity and promote literacy through artistic ventures with veterans and civilians who are innovating in their respective fields, challenging the common narrative while clearing a new path for positive and educational community growth.
In June 2021, Justin Eggen's 7th book "Adahy, Book 1 of the Et Omnia Trilogy", a historical fiction epic, was released to overwhelmingly great reviews.
In August, his 8th book and latest poetry collection was published, "Ten Years Ago, Ten Years Later," a twenty-poem collection of reflection and deep introspection of the 20 years' war called Operation Enduring Freedom…and enduring it was.
Justin spends his free time with his son, relaxing with family, or enjoying the beautiful outdoors South Florida has to offer. His hobbies include but are not limited to reading, writing, learning new activities, watching films, SCUBA diving, surfing, skimboarding, bicycling, hiking nature trails, freshwater kayaking, fishing, and being an advocate for US Veterans on an international level.
