Marine Tells His Most Brutal War Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan!

Marine Corps machine gunner Matthew Dolan survived a massive IED blast in Fallujah, Iraq and that was only one of several moments that nearly killed him.Today's Urban Valor podcast, Matthew shares what it was like serving as an 0331 Marine machine gunner with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. He discusses deploying to Fallujah, operating as part of a quick reaction force, being shot at by an enemy he could not see, surviving a double-stacked 155mm IED, and becoming trapped inside a military vehicle as it rolled into a river.Yeah… this one gets WILD.Matthew’s story isn’t only about explosions and close calls.It’s about growing up with a younger sister battling cystic fibrosis…Walking into a Marine Corps recruiting office after getting yelled at by his boss…Training under veterans of Operation Phantom Fury…And arriving in a completely blacked-out Fallujah as a 19-year-old kid from Kansas thinking, “What the hell did I get myself into?”Matthew describes the strange reality of fighting insurgents who rarely presented a clear target. One moment, he was searching vehicles and tracking high-value individuals. The next, he was taking sniper fire, responding to indirect fire or driving roads known for improvised explosive devices.Then came the blast.Matthew’s vehicle was the fourth to cross an IED buried beneath the road. The first three vehicles passed over it without detonating the device.His didn’t.The explosion cracked the vehicle’s axle, tore away part of the Humvee and knocked Matthew unconscious. His fellow Marines pulled him from the vehicle, strapped him to a stretcher and rushed him to medical treatment.What happened inside the medical bay somehow became one of the funniest...and most unfiltered...IED survival stories we’ve ever heard.👍 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.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━CHAPTERS00:00 Surviving an IED and a Sinking Vehicle01:31 Meet Marine Machine Gunner Matt Dolan02:02 Growing Up With a Sister Battling Cystic Fibrosis08:43 The Family Legacy That Inspired Him to Serve10:58 The Argument That Made Him Join the Marines12:56 Telling His Family He Enlisted15:02 Marine Corps Boot Camp21:15 Becoming an 0331 Machine Gunner23:51 Joining 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines26:27 Arriving in Fallujah28:49 Al-Qaeda Makes an Example of an Informant30:13 The First Time He Was Shot At32:03 Running Quick Reaction Force in Fallujah36:15 Recovering a Fallen Marine’s Sniper Rifle41:38 Fighting an Enemy He Couldn’t See43:39 His Humvee Detonates a Massive IED46:59 Rushed to the Medical Bay51:22 Returning to Fallujah56:02 A Four-Year-Old Girl Is Killed1:00:00 The Reality of His Second Iraq Deployment1:06:03 Marines Go Rooftop to Rooftop With Eggs1:08:13 Surrounded by Iraqi Police1:10:26 Sneaking Through an Iraqi Family’s House1:28:51 A Marine’s Rifle Goes Missing1:31:00 Japan, Korea and Australia1:36:04 Losing the Combat Mindset1:40:00 Preparing for Afghanistan1:50:45 Remembering the Marines He Lost1:55:08 Learning Matt Abate Was Killed1:58:23 A Gunny Gives Him a Reality Check2:11:26 Surviving the Vehicle Rollover2:13:18 Watching a Massive Firefight2:17:46 Pills, Alcohol and Returning to Afghanistan2:18:09 His Fifth Combat Deployment2:20:34 Completely Lost in His Own Head2:21:31 A DUI and the Collapse of His Career2:23:08 One Final Barracks Disaster━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━DISCLAIMER: The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the individual and are recounted from personal memory.