Ticket 2 Ride

Soft-spoken John Musgrave was a man you listened to with great attention. I did. He first came on my TV screen as a featured speaker in Ken Burns’ series about the Vietnam War. Cpl. Musgrave served in Vietnam and suffered a horrific chest wound. Ambushed, two soldiers died trying to rescue him, downed by the same machine gun that hit him. Two other Marines found to get Musgrave out, covering his body to protect him from additional fire. He survived; Marines don’t leave one their own.

A graduate of Van Horn High School in Independence, Missouri, Musgrave signed up and proudly went to serve his country. The war he found halfway around the world was different from what he envisioned. He grew up on World War Two movies, and Musgrave’s father served in that war, so Musgrave believed that it was his duty to fight in the jungle of Vietnam, even though like others his age, he had no idea where and what Vietnam was all about. But he volunteered, at age 14, and would be finally accepted as a Marine recruit when he turned 17.

After a long convalescent, he returned home. The world he returned to was different to the one he left. A hero’s return? Not hardly. He didn’t feel like a hero anyway, he just did his duty. The John Musgrave who enlisted for a very different John Musgrave who return home. Over the next many years he would make sense of it all, or at least try to. He turned against the war and spoke out against it. He joined other returning Vietnam Vets, to oppose the war, but to help other Vets. That would be a cause he championed for the rest of his life.

CPL John Musgrave, USMC died on May 3, 2026, at his home in Baldwin, Kansas. After returning from the war, he settled in Baldwin where he attended college and his organization helping other Vets was setup. Baldwin is a quiet, peaceful town a few miles south of Lawrence, Kansas where I grew up. In the fall of each year, Baldwin’s Maple Leaf Festival draws people from throughout the region.

I have written about John Musgrave before. When Burns’ Vietnam War series was promoted, one of the sites for previewing the series was Lawrence. Musgrave, prominently featured in the series, was one of the speakers at the event. I was in awe of his story and how he quietly commanded the audience.

A few years later, he spoke at a poetry reading, which I attended. It was a smaller event and I got to converse with him for several minutes. A couple of years ago, he published his life story in a book, The Education of Corporal John Musgrave, and had a book signing that my girlfriend (now wife) and I attended. Older now, he walked with crutches, his voice softer, but his spirit as powerful as ever.

Rest in Peace, CPL Musgrave.