Ron Osgood, a Vietnam veteran and ’78 alumnus, will show clips of his award-winning documentaries during a Veterans Day Presentation. The screening inside the Student Center Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 9, starting at 6 p.m. is free and open to the public.
November 03, 2026
SIU alum to share award-winning documentary clips during Veterans Day presentation
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Veterans Day is a time to honor our nation’s heroes, but the holiday also provides a chance for fellow veterans to gather and reflect about their shared experiences, and for civilians to learn about the sacrifices of our U.S. Armed Forces.
Ron Osgood’s Veterans Day presentation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is an opportunity for veterans and civilians to come together. The filmmaker, a 1978 SIU alumnus, will share clips from three of his award-winning documentaries. The presentation inside the Student Center Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 9, starting at 6 p.m. is free and open to the public.
“I Do Remember”
Osgood will screen his latest documentary, “I Do Remember,” which revisits a 1972 road trip and hitchhiking adventure while on active duty with two Navy shipmates. The documentary blends memory, evidence, and storytelling to explore how our recollections evolve over time and how stories shape our understanding of the past and is different style film from his two previous Vietnam-era documentaries.
“It’s a fun story,” said Osgood, a Chicago native who was drafted and later joined the U.S. Navy in 1968. “The story is based on found physical evidence, including photos, documents, Super 8mm film and an audio cassette. Much of the story uses hand-drawn art and simple animation techniques to tell this story.”
Osgood deployed to Vietnam three times on the USS Oriskany, an attack aircraft carrier. One of his responsibilities included videotaping pilots launching and returning to the ship, which influenced his academic and professional careers.
Experimental student films
After completing his military service, Osgood earned two degrees from SIU, a bachelor’s degree in radio, tv and film as well as a master’s degree in educational media. During his time on campus, he became the director of a student video committee that produced, filmed and edited videos with other students.
“Some of them were silly, fun projects and others were more serious,” Osgood said. “I take a lot of pride in that we were able to provide a creative outlet for student groups and individuals on campus.
The Veterans Day presentation includes clips from some of those student films, including a documentary on the 1976 football team. Some scenes from this program were shown during the 2026 Homecoming football game half-time presentation honoring the 1976 team.
Veteran-focused films
Following his retirement from a decades-long career as a film and video production professor, Osgood created two passion projects, “Just Like Me: The Vietnam War/The American War” and “My Vietnam, Your Iraq.” Representative clips from these PBS documentaries will be screened.
“My Vietnam, Your Iraq” follows eight Vietnam veterans whose children served in Iraq. The film often invokes emotion from veterans and civilians in the audience, Osgood said.
“Often veterans share stories with me that they’ve never told anyone in their family, even their spouse, because I’m a fellow veteran and there is trust and we have a shared experience,” the filmmaker said.
Meanwhile, “Just Like Me” shares the reconciliation of Vietnam veterans and the former Vietnamese soldiers they fought against as both sides reflect on their experiences as young adults during the war. Osgood interviewed U.S. Vietnam veterans, South Vietnamese veterans, refugees, and traveled to Vietnam five times to interview former enemy North Vietnamese veterans.
“It tells the story of young people, mostly men, from all sides of the war,” he said. “Everyone has hopes and dreams for their future. It doesn’t matter who you are or what side you fought for.”
These documentaries earned Osgood the 2026 Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Excellence in the Arts Award, recognizing his outstanding contributions to preserving the stories and experiences of veterans through documentary filmmaking.
His Veterans Day presentation is hosted by the Student Programming Council and Tau Kappa Epsilon. For questions or accommodation requests, contact studentprogramming@siu.edu.