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

About this story

Ronald Long is a United States Marine Corps Veteran who served from 2009 to 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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DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.

Chapters

1. 00:00 Preview
2. 01:04 Meet Marine Veteran Ronald Long
3. 02:17 His Sister’s Battle With Cancer
4. 04:19 Addiction and Abuse at Home
5. 10:15 His Family Nearly Loses Everything
6. 12:30 Gang Violence and Losing a Friend
7. 17:55 Life Before the Marine Corps
8. 23:16 Finding Out He Was Going to Be a Father

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9. 23:55 The Marine Corps Recruiter Calls
10. 25:50 Leaving for Boot Camp
11. 26:50 Going Through Boot Camp Nearly Blind
12. 28:26 Breaking Into the Wrong Barracks
13. 32:34 World of Warcraft Meets Marine Boot Camp
14. 37:02 Becoming a Squad Leader
15. 39:18 MCT and Becoming a Radio Operator
16. 44:42 Arriving in the Fleet
17. 45:58 A Wild Night With His Corporals
18. 50:53 Becoming a Field Radio Operator
19. 52:10 Preparing for Afghanistan
20. 59:19 Taking Over Communications in Afghanistan
21. 1:00:07 Becoming Addicted to Combat Patrols
22. 1:01:42 The Push Along Route 611
23. 1:03:39 Abdul Steps on an IED
24. 1:04:29 Realizing Abdul Is Dead
25. 1:05:16 Surviving the Blast
26. 1:06:52 Faith, Anger, and Wanting to Die
27. 1:15:20 Returning to Afghanistan
28. 1:15:39 Becoming Desensitized to Death
29. 1:17:00 The True Cost of the Deployment
30. 1:26:14 Surviving Another Major Battle
31. 1:27:22 Coming Home From a Brutal Deployment
32. 1:29:43 Trying to Become a Husband and Father
33. 1:41:19 Getting Married Days After Coming Home
34. 1:42:34 Discovering His Wife Was Unfaithful
35. 1:45:24 Preparing for Another Deployment
36. 1:52:40 Waking Up Injured in Thailand
37. 1:54:19 His Unit Leaves Without Him
38. 1:56:10 Stranded and Trying to Rejoin His Unit
39. 2:00:04 Traveling Through the Middle East
40. 2:06:53 Finally Rejoining His Marines
41. 2:11:02 Deciding to Leave the Marine Corps
42. 2:12:23 Transitioning to Civilian Life
43. 2:13:53 Moving Millions on the Las Vegas Strip
44. 2:24:14 A Fight Changes His Career
45. 2:26:22 Becoming a Counterterrorism Instructor
46. 2:27:04 Finding Purpose Again
47. 2:31:06 Struggling With Suicidal Thoughts
48. 2:31:55 Losing His Purpose Again
49. 2:34:00 Sitting in a Parking Lot With a Gun
50. 2:34:19 The Phone Call That Kept Him Alive
51. 2:35:25 Losing Fellow Marines to Suicide
52. 2:37:16 Finding a New Mission After the Military
53. 2:37:56 Turning Veteran Trauma Into Comedy
54. 2:42:15 Helping Veterans Find Purpose
55. 2:43:02 Stories Over Stigma
56. 2:43:39 Ronald’s Message to Other Veterans
57. 2:44:33 Closing