Glenn Meyer stated: I might have seemed strident, for which I apologize. My point was based on the problem that some folks suffering from stress disorders have been denied help as superiors, bureaucracy, etc. have made light of the problem.
That was very evident during and immediately following Viet Nam,,,
There were still a heck of a lot of WW-II vets around then,,,
I had friends who were severely screwed up by Nam,,,
But the WW-II vets sneered at then for being so.
My former father-in-law was a navigator in a B-24 for three years in WW-II,,,
My former mother-in-law said he was a completely different man after he returned home,,,
In the late 70's I heard him make many comments on how the "Viet Nam P___ies" should just man up and get a grip.
My FIL was a mans man,,,
He just accepted and dealt with the nightmares,,,
I believe the disorder he experienced was called Bomber's Remorse.
The one time I mentioned that phrase,,,
I thought he was going to hit me.
"Men don't talk about that stuff." was his oft used phrase.
Speculation has it that Audie Murphy had severe PTSD after WW-II,,,
But he was also a strong advocate for returning Korea and Nam veterans who were messed up.
It's completely different now in the Army,,,
I was talking to a student who just returned from Afghanistan.
He said there were support groups available immediately after returning from a patrol,,,
If there was any shooting on the patrol then your attendance was mandatory,,,
And it wasn't a chaplain but a trained psychologist leading the group.
Wow! I say,,,
What a cultural difference between then and now.
I do often wonder about my reactions after a violent encounter,,,
Or maybe I should say my lack of a reaction.
All I can truly say is that he was down and I was not,,,
And that's exactly the way I wanted it to be.
I was very pleased and content with the outcome.
Aarond