Tango01 | 08 Aug 2016 1:06 p.m. PST |
"When do we let go of the myth that only in "bad" wars do combat veterans suffer from mental wounds? When do we let go of the idea that only weak people are affected by the overwhelming mental stress of combat? Because, as Illona's powerful diary bears witness, that myth is killing America's young veterans today. The justness or injustice of the cause does not cause PTSD; if it did, then the "Greatest Generation," fighting in the Second World War, would have had no problems, right? Yet they did. Below the fold is a look at how PSTD affected combat veterans in "the Best War Ever."…" More here link Amicalement Armand |
Dynaman8789 | 08 Aug 2016 1:10 p.m. PST |
I do love the current trend of making up myths to debunk. I guess putting "hidden history of X" no longer sells books. |
Landorl | 08 Aug 2016 2:11 p.m. PST |
PTSD was a well known issue in WWII. Back then they called it "shell shock". Same thing.. |
nheastvan | 08 Aug 2016 2:44 p.m. PST |
They were trying to get away from WW1 terms like "shell shock" and often used terms like "combat exhaustion" instead. I don't think it is making up of a myth. There are so many people who think that veterans that are currently struggling just need to "man up" or other such nonsense. Or they just need to be told that what they did was just and right enough until they believe it. Good podcast: link |
Rudysnelson | 08 Aug 2016 3:05 p.m. PST |
My uncle who was an MP before volunteering to go infantry after the Battle of the Bulge, said that several guys that he knew in the unit shot themselves in the foot ( favorite place to shoot) in order to keep from going to the front. These comments were letters sent home. later when he was in the hospital after losing use of both legs and his arm, he commented on a number of 'battle fatigue' cases in the hospital with him. So I do not think it is a myth. |
tberry7403 | 08 Aug 2016 3:40 p.m. PST |
I don't think it "myth" so much as a combination of the old "men don't cry" combined with the government's unwillingness to "fix" the soldiers broken in their service to the country. A part of the difference between the wars up to WWII and the wars after is "decompression" time. In WWII and before it took weeks or months for troops mustering out to reach "home". They had time, with people with shared experiences, in a familiar, structured environment, to cycle out of a combat mode and into a more relaxed "civilian" mode. Now, with planes, one day you watching for IEDs and ambushes and sleeping with one ear open for mortar/RPG fire, then a couple of days later you're in States out the gates and back home. Still in combat mode, still shaking the sand out of you boots and trying to deal with people who have NO idea what you've been through. People wondering why "Johnny just doesn't seem himself." |
Battle Phlox | 08 Aug 2016 3:40 p.m. PST |
PTSD and Shell Shock are two different and real things. Shell shock is the mind's trying to cope with too much stress at the time and PTSD is the mind trying to cope with past stress. |
Dynaman8789 | 08 Aug 2016 5:12 p.m. PST |
The myth is saying they did not know about it or that it did not happen to ww2 vets. The reality of not knowing how to deal with it is another matter. |
emckinney | 08 Aug 2016 6:38 p.m. PST |
Grand-uncle went to Normandy, was never the same when he came back. (Never got much beyond the beach.) |
bsrlee | 09 Aug 2016 5:34 a.m. PST |
My Grandfather suffered from what would be called PTSD – he fought in the Middle East in WW1 as part of the Australian Light Horse. My Father also suffered from ongoing problems, he served in the Australian Army (artillery) from 1939 to 1945, initially in the Middle East and then from New Guinea to Borneo, but he was better at hiding it from his family. On a lighter note, when by Grandfather was in Palestine, it was the worst winter on record – when my Father was there it was the worst winter since my Grandfather had been there. I am avoiding visiting, not wanting to continue a family tradition. |
Irish Marine | 09 Aug 2016 6:35 a.m. PST |
Wargaming really helped me with my PTSD. I started Ambush Alley's Force on Force and started playing out some of the engagements I had been in and it helped along with going to the VA. |
Ironwolf | 09 Aug 2016 3:31 p.m. PST |
Step father was a ww-II vet, fought in the Bulge. He had nightmares most of his life. It wasn't until after Vietnam he went for treatment. Prior to that he said it was something he just lived with. Had no clue there was treatment for it until reading about Vietnam vets getting treated for it. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 09 Aug 2016 7:01 p.m. PST |
There's a reason film noir's period of highest popularity was about 1945-1955. |