This Marine Sold Drugs to Save His Family Before Going to War

Ronald Long is a United States Marine Corps veteran who served from 2009–2013, leaving the Marines as an E-4 Corporal. In this episode of Urban Valor, Ronald shares his incredible story of joining the U.S. Marines, experiencing combat, surviving an IED explosion, losing a fellow service member beside him, and confronting experiences that would follow him long after the battlefield.

But Ronald’s story started LONG before the Marine Corps...

He grew up in Northern California in a Puerto Rican family that endured financial hardship, his sister’s battle with cancer, his mother’s addiction, abuse inside the home, and eventually the breakup of his family.

As a kid, Ronald learned pretty damn quickly how to survive.

By his teenage years, that meant helping raise his sisters, trying to help keep his family financially afloat, getting involved in selling marijuana, witnessing violence around his friends, and reaching adulthood without much of a plan for what came next.

Then life changed FAST.

Ronald began a relationship, discovered he was about to become a father, and suddenly needed a way to provide for a family.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere...

A Marine Corps recruiter called.

Ronald signed the paperwork, went to boot camp, and began a path that would eventually put him into situations very few people can truly understand.

And somehow, even surrounded by some incredibly dark moments, Ronald’s Marine Corps stories can also be absolutely hilarious.

From doing boot camp practically BLIND because nobody gave him his glasses...

...to Marines breaking into the WRONG barracks...

...to a drill instructor apparently studying World of Warcraft just so he could figure out new ways to destroy the recruits playing it. 

But combat was different.

Ronald describes transporting bodies, seeing horrific injuries become almost routine, and the moment a pressure plate detonated feet away from him.

For a moment, his mind transported him somewhere completely different.

Then Abdul came crashing back into his reality.

And Ronald realized his friend was dead.

Thank you to Ronald Long for trusting us with his story.

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Chapters: 
00:00 Preview
01:04 Meet Marine Veteran Ronald Long
02:17 His Sister’s Battle With Cancer
04:19 Addiction and Abuse at Home
10:15 His Family Nearly Loses Everything
12:30 Gang Violence and Losing a Friend
17:55 Life Before the Marine Corps
23:16 Finding Out He Was Going to Be a Father
23:55 The Marine Corps Recruiter Calls
25:50 Leaving for Boot Camp
26:50 Going Through Boot Camp Nearly Blind
28:26 Breaking Into the Wrong Barracks
32:34 World of Warcraft Meets Marine Boot Camp
37:02 Becoming a Squad Leader
39:18 MCT and Becoming a Radio Operator
44:42 Arriving in the Fleet
45:58 A Wild Night With His Corporals
50:53 Becoming a Field Radio Operator
52:10 Preparing for Afghanistan
59:19 Taking Over Communications in Afghanistan
1:00:07 Becoming Addicted to Combat Patrols
1:01:42 The Push Along Route 611
1:03:39 Abdul Steps on an IED
1:04:29 Realizing Abdul Is Dead
1:05:16 Surviving the Blast
1:06:52 Faith, Anger, and Wanting to Die
1:15:20 Returning to Afghanistan
1:15:39 Becoming Desensitized to Death
1:17:00 The True Cost of the Deployment
1:26:14 Surviving Another Major Battle
1:27:22 Coming Home From a Brutal Deployment
1:29:43 Trying to Become a Husband and Father
1:41:19 Getting Married Days After Coming Home
1:42:34 Discovering His Wife Was Unfaithful
1:45:24 Preparing for Another Deployment
1:52:40 Waking Up Injured in Thailand
1:54:19 His Unit Leaves Without Him
1:56:10 Stranded and Trying to Rejoin His Unit
2:00:04 Traveling Through the Middle East
2:06:53 Finally Rejoining His Marines
2:11:02 Deciding to Leave the Marine Corps
2:12:23 Transitioning to Civilian Life
2:13:53 Moving Millions on the Las Vegas Strip
2:24:14 A Fight Changes His Career
2:26:22 Becoming a Counterterrorism Instructor
2:27:04 Finding Purpose Again
2:31:06 Struggling With Suicidal Thoughts
2:31:55 Losing His Purpose Again
2:34:00 Sitting in a Parking Lot With a Gun
2:34:19 The Phone Call That Kept Him Alive
2:35:25 Losing Fellow Marines to Suicide
2:37:16 Finding a New Mission After the Military
2:37:56 Turning Veteran Trauma Into Comedy
2:42:15 Helping Veterans Find Purpose
2:43:02 Stories Over Stigma
2:43:39 Ronald’s Message to Other Veterans
2:44:33 Closing

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DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

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