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WWII vets had it, Vietnam Vets have had it....PTSD. Back then it was called Shell Shock (WWII). Ignorance on the topic of PTSD is apparent by posters in this thread.
Yep, Patton's famous slapping incident is a prime example of this. Also, IIRC at least one of the soldiers that Ambrose wrote about in "Band of Brothers" was evacuated suffering from a mental breakdown and apparently spent the rest of his life in a VA hospital.
Veterans like me ( Viet Nam Medic) Navy and Army support Mr Trump BUT he and most media are
sorely misinformed regarding the VA being some sort of inefficient monster. Let me set the record straight the VA is the BEST healthcare system in the world . The VA is highly efficient and statically has the lowest incidence of error, delays and malpractice weighed against all hospital networks proportionate to the ratio of outpatient/ inpatient care surpassing HCA , Arora, Tenant combined by millions of additional admits! The lies were based on extremely isolated cases and to equate "death" via inability to be seen is the largest lie. Anyone anywhere can proceed to a local ER for emergent care as I have done. If distance is an issue VA pays the bill ( mine was not due to only 22 miles from VA , but because I took on Humana Advantage they paid all but $75 dollars for $9 .5 k in bills). Had 25 visits to VA X-rays, Cat Scans, Cardiac Scans, OT , PT, Ekg's ,two surgeries, ER care , podiatry, hearing ( audio), vision and numerous labs , primary care ( separate clinics) the list goes on ALL at EXACT scheduled times !!!? Stop the bull****!!
I would never consider vets or anyone else should keep their mouths shut, but I also would like to ask you, why is it that is many wars in the past vets went on to live very normal lives, got educations, went on to have careers and we didn't see the breakdowns we are seeing today? Of course fighting in a war makes you a different person and I am sure leaves some scars, but recently it has escalated. This is my only point
All that you mentioned was only seen from outside the families of those vets.
Those inside the families of the vets who returned from our wars with permanent emotional damage have other, much darker versions of their lives to tell, along with the honest vets who have faced up to their damage openly as a way to heal as much as possible.
And no one living now experienced the terrors the vets of the Civil War and World War I faced, when leaving shelter to face their enemies was a sure death sentence. No battles after WWII have seen tens of thousands of soldiers die in a single day.
We ask our soldiers to do what no sane person would do- die for the rest of us. Treating that demand lightly is the height of arrogance and self-entitlement.
No amount of shallow acknowledgement can ever heal fully the wounds of the mind or the body. Who is Trump to say who's worthy or not? He's not qualified.
But then, he's not qualified for very much of anything at all.
How the flip can anyone possibly defend these comments? I have friends who came back from Iraq and/or Afghanistan with PTSD and in one my friends in still being treated for it 5+ years later. It completely messed him up, his entire personality was altered.
Does Trump have no decency at all?
None that I'm aware of.
I and a lot of other wives of war vets could tell Trump a thing about being strong enough.
Our husbands thrash around at night until they literally wear out the sheets. We keep big dogs so they have someone they can talk to that won't judge. They have moral wounds that will never heal.
The ones that are actually diagnosed with PTSD, are doped up and turned loose.
They thought they were signing up to protect those that needed protection. Instead they are used like pawns and then tossed aside when they are too broken to send back again.
What we are doing now to those poor soldiers that have to go back again and again to Afghanistan, Iraq,... is a crime.
We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
And Trump needs to shut the **** up about it. He doesn't have a clue.
I am not voting for Trump but against Clinton as I believe the majority are doing.
Trump is a draft dodger. During the Nam era Trump was granted five deferments for a bad toe. I see him as a coward.
However Clinton is much worse. She is a war hawk and I expect we will be in a major war before the end of her first year.
Our only hope is that Clinton passes away before she can do any real damage. God help us.
I and a lot of other wives of war vets could tell Trump a thing about being strong enough.
Our husbands thrash around at night until they literally wear out the sheets. We keep big dogs so they have someone they can talk to that won't judge. They have moral wounds that will never heal.
The ones that are actually diagnosed with PTSD, are doped up and turned loose.
They thought they were signing up to protect those that needed protection. Instead they are used like pawns and then tossed aside when they are too broken to send back again.
What we are doing now to those poor soldiers that have to go back again and again to Afghanistan, Iraq,... is a crime.
We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
And Trump needs to shut the **** up about it. He doesn't have a clue.
Its because people feel they can talk about it now. We have open minds - well most of us.
My father was a WW2 vet - purple heart. My other half is a Vietnam vet - 2 purple hearts. He spent all weekend in bed just couldn't move. And yes, he has gone to counseling, but it does not go away.
I am a retired veteran - deployed to Kuwait during the start of the war. Its a different world. People didn't talk about child molestation and wife abuse back in the day either. You just kept your mouth shut and suffered in silence. No more!
But I guess that is what some people want - "just keep your mouth shut".
I think that this is a perfect description of why PTSD seems to be a modern issue when in reality it was issue all along but many families and vets suffered in silence.
This is another example of a "be a man" mentality that runs through our society and we need to realize the harm that it causes.
Trump put his ignorance about PTSD on full display. PTSD has nothing to do with a soldier's "strength" either physical or mental. Given the right combination of severe traumatic experiences even the strongest soldier can suffer from PTSD after returning from combat.
As usual, you are so wrong!
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