PTSDandMentalIllness:TheHiddenEffectsofWar

Mentalwoundshavejustasmuchasanimpactonsoldiersasphysicalwounds,if
notmore;everysoldierwillhaveexperiencedthefear,guilt,andotherarrayofintense
emotionsassociatedwithwar.Oneofthemostcommonemotionssharedbysoldiersis
guilt,whichencapsulatesthedichotomybetweenasoldiersmoralintegrityandhisactions
duringthewar(Puniewska).Moralinjuryisoftenthoughtofastheepitomeofsuchguilt.
Moralinjuryrepresentsthepainthatresultsfromdamagetoapersonsmoralfoundation
(Wood).Asoldiermaygointothewarthinkingthatheorsheisfightingforalegitimateor
goodcause,onlytoexperienceorcarryoutactionsthatcontradictthismindset.This
phenomenonisprevalentbecausemanysoldiersaredeployedintheirlateteens,lacking
adequatecognitiveskillstoeffectivelyprocessmoralambiguity(Puniewska).Moral
injurytendstobeoverlookedincomparisonwithPTSD.
PTSD,orshellshock,hasbeenacknowledgedsinceWorldWarI,whensoldierscame
homeexhibitingshaking,dizziness,poorconcentration,orlackofmobility(Alexander).
Initially,shellshockwasseenasaphysicalinjury,whichresultedfromlargeexplosions
thatcausedsevereconcussivemotionoftheshakenbraininthesoldiersskull
(Alexander).Advancesinpsychiatryallowedforadifferentperspectiveonshellshockas
thewarprogressed.AttheendofWorldWarI,itwasthoughtthatshellshockwasan
emotionalcollapsethatresultedfromtraumaticexperiences(Alexander).Thirtyseven
yearslater,theVietnamWaraddressedthesameemotionalscarsandmoralambiguities
thatsoldiersinWWIhadexperienced.However,evenwithadvancementsindiagnosisand
treatment,manysoldiersburdenswentunnoticed.TheNationalVietnamVeterans'

ReadjustmentStudy(NVVRS)revealedthatthemajorityofveteranswereableto
successfullytransitionbackintosociety;however,italsorevealedthatoutofthe
percentagethatexhibitedsignsofpsychologicaldisorders,onlyasmallfractionsought
treatment(Price).Itwasin1985thatPTSDwasofficiallydeclaredamentaldisorderthat
wasnamedbytheAmericanPsychiatricAssociation,whenapercentageofVietnam
veterans(morethantenthousandsoldiers)werelivinginlivesofhomelessness,crime,or
despair(Maugh).
Treatmentofmentalillnessassociatedwithwarhasalsodrasticallydeveloped.
DuringWorldWarI,soldierswithshellshockweretreatedwithgeneralanesthesiaor
applicationofelectricity(Linden).However,thesemethodsprovedtobepainfuland
unproductive.DuringtheVietnamWar,counselingandothermethodsoftherapywere
utilized.However,inbothwars,thestigmaofmentalillnesswasalsoprevalent,and
continuestobesotothisday(Alexander).

RecruitmentStrategies

ThedraftoftheVietnamWarwashighlyopposedbymanyyoungmenacrossthe
country.ThenumberofmenwhoresistedthedraftwasatitshighestduringtheVietnam
Warwitharound206,000men(Kindig).Becauseoftheoverwhelmingnumberof
protestors,theUnitedStatesgovernmentwasunabletoprosecutethosewhodidnot
complywiththemilitarydraft.Additionally,antiwarsentimentwasalreadystronginthe
country,givingrisetoralliesatuniversitiesandcitystreets(Kindig).Oneofthemain
reasonsforthisresistancewasbecauseofthewarsambiguity.Withoutaclearreasonfor

thewar,manymendidnotwanttorisktheirlivesfightingforacausethattheydidnot
believein.
ItcanbesaidthatWorldWarIwasalsoawarthatdidnothaveacleargoal.However,
nonetheless,Britainreceivedapproximately2,675,000volunteers.Thisstarkdifference
withtheVietnamwarsignifiestherolethatimageplayedinrecruitment.DuringWorld
WarI,soldierswereglorifiedtobeheroesoftheircountries,thussettinganexampletothe
restofprospectivesoldiers(Watson).However,duringtheVietnamWar,thewarwas
protestedsothatthesoldierswerenotglorifiedasmuchastheywereduringWorldWarI.

CivilianResponses

CivilianresponsestotheVietnamWarandWorldWarIwereverydifferent.WorldWarI
wasthefirstwarinwhichtheUnitedStatespresenteditselfasaworldpowermeaningthat
mostpeopleproudlyshowedtheirnationalismbysupportingthewarinanywaythatthey
could(Ceballos).Therewasonlyasmallnumberofmenandwomenwhovocalizedtheir
oppositiontothewarthesemenandwomenfacedagreatdealofrepressionbythe
government(ModernWarfare).TheVietnamWar,ontheotherhand,wasmetwitha
muchlargerpopulationofopposers(Barringer).PeoplewhoopposedtheVietnamWar
wereveryvocal.Theyhadentirecampaignsagainstthewarthatinvolvedralliesandlots
antiwarpropaganda(Barringer).Inadditiontothatralliesandsuch,thereweremany
peoplewhoturnedtopoetryasaformofprotest(Barringer).Twonotablepoetsand
veteransoftheVietnamWarareSiegfriedSassoonandOwenWilson.Bothofthesepoets
broughttolighttheignorancethatallveteranshadtofaceupontheirwaytoAmerican.
Theyalsofrequentlywroteaboutthehorrorsofwarandthefeelingofthosewhoactually

experiencedit.Poetrywasawaytoexpressonesfeelingsandemotionsthroughjustafew
wordsthatcouldbedistributedaroundthenation.