As I understand it, the a large precentage of soldiers who came back from the war suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and many remained very private about it. There are cases where soldiers took their own lives to make it a point that they could not function in society when they entered back. I am wondering about what the response was to this post traumatic stress disorder condition when it was floating around in the media.
Military - 4 Answers
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1 :
Nobody knew about PTSD as we know it now. After WWII they called it "shell shocked," and during Vietnam it was "crazed Vietnam vet." Returning soldiers kept it private because there was a stigma attached, thinking they were crazy, and there were few psychological services for vets specific to PTSD.
2 :
Combat soldiers in every era are prone to physiological disorders brought on by the strain of combat. In the Civil War it was called Nostalgia. In WW I it was called Shell Shock. In WW II and Korea it was called Battle Fatigue. In Vietnam and since it has been refereed to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. There is a liberal myth (part of the ongoing attempts to discredit and demonize Vietnam Vets) that we are all a bunch of basket cases unable to function in civilian society because we all engaged in committing atrocities in Vietnam and suffer from PTSD as a consequence. In truth only about 10 percent of the Americans deployed to Vietnam were in the infantry. About 5 percent were in direct support of combat operations. Eight-five percent of the Vietnam Veterans never saw sustained combat or fired a shot in anger during their deployment to Vietnam, let alone committed and atrocity or was ever subject to PTSD.
3 :
My son has PTSD. My husband was just considered a faker i think. No one saw or heard the screaming nightmares and the misery he endured for many, many years. He is a long term brain tumor survivor (think Agent Orange) and is on so many anxiety, anti psychotic, seizure, pain medicines he has them lots less now. The drugs and brain damage him the effects but they are still there. My poor son does not want to be labled for life with PTSD and I am terrified he will be just like his dad. As for the media post Viet Nam not much good was said about the vets or much care given to their condition. it was a crazy time in America.
4 :
Hmmm...what do you mean "Lived Through Vietnam"... Most nights I am still there...(RVN 69-70)(USMC) I agree with both posters especially the one with the Husband and Sons all Military...YOU MUST BE AN ANGEL !!!! Your Son will stand a better chance than us at a half way Normal life if he seeks treatment asap...we fought long and hard to keep the PTSD Units open and Operating...for the Next Generation of Vets so that they didn't have to wait 20-30 years for Treatment... It takes Seven (7) REMF's to keep One (1) Grunt operating in the Field... and they do a piss poor job of doing that... A GRUNT on a 6 month Combat Deployment in A'stan loses upto 40% of His body weight...mostly due to lack of proper meals...No Fresh Fruit/Vegtables/No Hot Meals etc... The reason the USMC/Navy came out with the "Combat Action Ribbion" (CAR) was to seperate the BS Wannabes as the VA was over whelmed with Claims for Combat PTSD...the number of Fraudulent claims awarded for PTSD is astounding...
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