Vietnam Marine's 26-Year Carousel Quest Spins PTSD Into Colorado Spectacle

Vietnam veteran Scott Harrison’s surreal 26-year quest—building a carousel in Nederland, Colorado—directly answers 'Can PTSD be cured?' and 'Vietnam War coping mechanisms.' Harrison, once holed up at Con Thien, replaced foxholes with hand-carved mountain lions. “I would close my eyes, and think of a carousel in a mountain meadow,” he recalls, highlighting the ironic leap from battlefield trenches to wooden unicorns.
Trading music box daydreams for real-life zebras, Harrison’s Carousel of Happiness has attracted over one million joy-seekers since 2010. Queries like 'How do veterans heal PTSD?' and 'Where is the Carousel of Happiness?' meet a scene where former Marines police rogue ostriches and delighted locals ride handmade kangaroos. “Just to go to that carousel and see everybody having such a great time, is good medicine for me,” he says, turning postwar therapy into a public spinning menagerie.
Since 2010, Nederland’s mountain carousel has clocked over one million rides—meaning this ex-Marine has seen more people spin in circles for joy than a year’s worth of Colorado tumbleweeds.