About this episode
This week on Urban Valor, we sat down with Marine veteran Ernesto Menjivar. A man who watched his brother lose both legs to an IED right in front of him. Ernesto was 19 years old when he first hit the ground in Afghanistan, assigned to one of the most IED-infested regions in Helmand Province. The firefights came fast. The first one he was ever in, RPGs were flying over his head, and the next minute they were sweeping for pressure plates in the dirt, praying one of them wouldn’t go off. But then it did. His brother, Langston White, stepped on an IED while on patrol, and Ernesto was just feet away. The way he describes that moment — the sound, the dust, the blood, the moment they locked eyes — it’ll sit with you. Langston survived but lost both legs. And that was just one chapter of what became a brutal deployment. Ernesto talks about the emotional toll of trying to stay mission-ready after something like that, the Marines he lost during Operation Deuces Wild, and how that experience changed him forever. Now years removed from combat, he opens up about the PTSD, the dreams, the random moments where he sees civilians missing limbs and flashes back to war. But he also shares what’s helped him — therapy, music, painting, his faith — and how he’s still working through it. This isn’t a sanitized version of war. It’s the real cost. The kind of story that shows what combat veterans carry with them long after the fighting stops. 👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation. 🗣️ Comment your support or ask any questions. Sometimes, our interviewees respond, and we at Urban Valor will do our best to respond as well! ✅ SUBSCRIBE to support Urban Valor and the courageous Veterans who tell their stories AND so you NEVER miss a weekly episode of our veteran stories. New stories every Sunday! Your engagement greatly supports our mission to share authentic and impactful veteran stories. Video Chapters: 00:00 - Intro: War Outside - War Inside 01:07 Recruitment & Bootcamp 08:31 Deployment & Military Life 40:11 Beyond the Battlefield 49:23 Share Your Story #military #warstories #urbanvalor #marines #warstories