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Ron Mosbaugh
Episode 3210 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about PTSD hell from Vietnam by Ron Mosbaugh, Vietnam Vet himself. Ron’s story is titled Veterans Day, A time to Remember.
Ron’s story presented the following: Veterans Day, observed each year on November 11, is a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served in America’s wars. For the author, a Vietnam veteran, the day carries deep personal meaning. He reflects on the visible and invisible wounds veterans bear, especially Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a lasting consequence of combat.
Serving as an 8404 field corpsman with the Second Battalion, First Marine Division in Vietnam in 1966, he endured the brutal realities of a guerrilla war with no clear front lines. Patrols through rice paddies and villages were marked by constant fear, sudden ambushes, horrific casualties, and the chaos of monsoon-soaked battlefields. He treated over 200 wounded during more than 300 patrols, often with limited medical training and insufficient corpsmen. The sounds of gunfire, the whir of helicopters, and the smells of blood and smoke remain vivid decades later. For him, “Then is Now”—the trauma never truly ends.
For more than forty years, he suppressed these memories, coping through isolation and avoidance while suffering nightmares and emotional pain. Writing became both an act of courage and therapy. By putting memories into words, he began separating intertwined traumas and finding a path toward healing. Sharing his stories with fellow veterans in VA group therapy helped others confront their own experiences.
His account underscores the staggering human cost of the Vietnam War—thousands killed, many more lost to suicide, and countless veterans still battling PTSD. Veterans Day, he reminds us, is not just a date on the calendar but a call to remember their enduring sacrifice.
Listen to Episode 3210 and discover more about PTSD hell from Vietnam from Ron Mosbaugh.
