John David Musgrave (born 1948) is an American

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...

, poet, counselor, and veterans' affairs advocate.

Life

Musgrave was born in

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

in 1948, and graduated from Van Horn High School in Independence in 1966. He enlisted with the Marine Corps just after graduating from high school. He was a member of the

1st Battalion, 9th Marines The 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9) was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, it served until the mid-2000s when it was deactivated to make room for one of three light armor reconnaissance battalions ...

. He served in Vietnam for 11 months and seventeen days before being permanently disabled by his third wound at the battle of

Con Thien Con Thien (Vietnamese: Cồn Tiên, meaning the "Hill of Angels") was a military base that started out as a U.S. Army Special Forces camp before transitioning to a United States Marine Corps combat base. It was located near the Vietnamese De ...

in November 1967. He was medically retired as a corporal in 1969. He studied at

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

but graduated with a degree in sociology from

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas. It also has a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, as well as onlin ...

in Ottawa, Kansas in 1972. He was a member of

Vietnam Veterans Against the War Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) is an American non-profit organization and corporation founded in 1967 to oppose the United States policy and participation in the Vietnam War. VVAW is a national veterans' organization that campaigns for ...

. He acts with the Theatre of War Project. He was interviewed extensively for the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

and

Lynn Novick Lynn Novick is an American director and producer of documentary films, widely known for her work with Ken Burns. Early life Novick was born in 1962, raised in New York City, and graduated from Horace Mann School in 1979. She graduated magna cum l ...

documentary ''

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

''. He appeared with David Longhurst at the Watkins Museum of History for a panel about the war. Musgrave raised money for the Vietnam War Memorial at the University of Kansas and he served on the committee that helped see the Memorial be completed. He was the model for the "Citizen-Soldier" granite sculpture at the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

National Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. A married father of two grown sons, Musgrave currently lives with his wife in Kansas.

Works

* ''The Vietnam Years: 1000 Questions and Answers'' (1986) (with Micheal Clodfelter) * ''On Snipers, Laughter and Death: Vietnam Poems'' (1992) * ''Under a Flare-Lit Sky: Vietnam Poems'' (1996) * * ''The Education of Corporal John Musgrave'' (2021) Musgrave, John. The Education of Corporal John Musgrave. Knopf, New York.

References

External links

* *http://www.vietvet.org/jmindex.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, John 1948 births Living people United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American male poets People from Independence, Missouri United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers