3 ms·
My belief that part of the depth of Trauma compared to WWII and Korea was the rotation system as used, vs demob as a unit. To expand on this, in Vietnam, indiv
by Aloha 3y ago
My belief that part of the depth of Trauma compared to WWII and Korea was the rotation system as used, vs demob as a unit.
To expand on this, in Vietnam, individual soldiers were rotated in and out based on time in country, in WWII, units rotated as a unit, with replacements added during the rotation.
The fact that it took weeks or months to repatriate people back to CONUS after WWII, gave time for people to process their experiences with their brother in arms.
- iancmceachern 3y agoThis makes perfect sense. Taking a ship back from Europe for a couple weeks is like a built in therapy detox group session. The way my grandfather talked about WWII was different than other folks I've heard talk about wars after. My grandfather was at peace about it within himself in a way I haven't seen since. The things he saw and had to do were no doubt just as horrific.
- Aloha 3y agoI've done some reading on the topic - and what surprises me is that none of the professional literature (that I've found), touches on this. But for me as a reader of history, it's blindly obvious - in particular with the strategy used to treat PTSD, which is functionally group therapy with over vets with similar experiences.
- golwengaud 3y agoFWIW, Jonathan Shay's /Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character/ [1] touches on this. It's a good book. IDK if Shay's book qualifies as "professional literature", but he was certainly a professional (VA psychiatrist), and I have the impression it was fairly influential. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Achilles-Vietnam-Combat-Undoing-Character/dp/0684813211/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Achilles+in+Vietnam&qid=1697999957&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Achilles-Vietnam-Combat-Undoing-Chara...
- klyrs 3y agoIndeed, my single-paragraph "history lesson" doesn't do the topic any justice. To add to what you've said, mental health care went through a deinstitutionalization movement between the World Wars and the Vietnam War-- leaving a total void of "care" in place of torture/imprisonment. Upon reflection, I'd revise my statement to say that the impact of the trauma on veterans was much more visible than prior wars; in part because they ended up on the streets doing crack and heroin.