I happened across an article by Leo
Shane III of Stars and Stripes which refered to PTSD. (Ref. link
that follows for article in question.)
I have never served in the military but
my dad served during the Korean Conflict. I was an adult when Dad
was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress yet it was more than 25
years after he had served. He didn't romanticize about his time
spent in the military and never suggested that he questioned his
choices, actually he said that joining the military at that time was
just the thing to do.
I recall him telling me the story of
arriving home. He was walking down the street and saw his former
boss. The man told him that it was nice to see that he was back and
said, “I'll see you at work Monday morning.” Years later he
laughed about that and told me, “So on Monday morning I went to
work.” I had a ton of questions. Did you know what you would be
doing for work, did you still want to work there, what were they
planning on paying you? He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I
went to work on Monday because it was the thing to do.”
When Dad was diagnosed with Post
Traumatic Stress he was shocked. He couldn't believe that he had
been living with PTSD all of those years and never knew it was a condition that could be diagnosed. From the time that he arrived home he had
kept busy leading his life and suddenly PTSD was demanding his
attention. Recognizing PTSD and acknowledging it was the thing to
do.
The article in Stars and Stripes refers
to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but my dad nor his doctor ever
referred to it this way. They referred to it as Post Traumatic
Stress. Perhaps these men were just wise l beyond their years and
refused to give it a negative connotation. Reading the article from Stars and
Stripes only gives civilians a glimpse of what it is like to come
home. We need to welcome these men and women home and treat them
well because it's the thing to do.
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