Saturday, December 5, 2009

Why were WWII vets able to adapt back to civilian life more easily than modern vets?

For example, my own grandfather was a veteran of the Battle of Peleliu, an extremely nasty island invasion, along with other landings in the Pacific theater. But when he got home, he was very well-adjusted. He displayed no indication of mental "trauma," just some lingering physical trauma from shrapnel embedded in his upper legs.



He was never impatient or "angry with the world." Never snapped at people, never had inexplicable flashes of rage, and never had "flashbacks" - or, if he did, he hid it until the day he died.



How come vets from the WWII generation are able to adapt back to normal, civilian life more easily than modern vets, who seem to often suffer from a variety of conditions, ranging from depression to a lack of self-control to "PTSD?" Not to mention the Vietnam generation's troubles with drugs and homelessness.



What's up with that?



Why were WWII vets able to adapt back to civilian life more easily than modern vets?performing arts



I sincerely it was the time involved in getting home. Now, ( as in Vietman) you are in a hostile zone one day and on a plane coming home the next. You don't have an opportunity to "gear down."



After WWII, it took weeks, even months, to get the troops home. When hostilities ceased, there was much "mickey mouse " work to do, clean up gear, pack up equipment, ( which took time) then you came home on a slow moving ship. After you reached the US, you were held for out processing , which took awhile, and then,. it was a slow train ride home.



Some troops didn't get home until the middle of 1946.



During this time, they simply "talked it out ": between each other and had a chance to ":gear down."



Now, I remember a friend who was in "Nam." He was in combat and two days later he was home. A truck backfired, and he's there yelling incoming" on a streetcorner in his home town!



I sincerely believe troops who are in Iraq should be held somewher for a week, just to "gear down" and be screened for PTSD.I believe most of the problems would be solved during that week.



Why were WWII vets able to adapt back to civilian life more easily than modern vets?binoculars opera theater



Have to wonder...did you live with him...how often did you see him...??? Most Combat Veterans do not talk about their



experiences...



Also there wasn't the instant communications as there are today...TV/Radio/Internet etc...



Fact being that they had FAR more PTSD problems because



of no available treatment...they stuck the worst cases in Mental wards and long term care...for months and years at a time...still do...



More WW II Veterans came forward later on in their years



as the VVA and Others...pushed for PTSD care...



Things that happened in families of WW II Combat Veterans



was hardly ever talked about...What goes on behind closed doors stayed there...



PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been around since Cane slew Able...just by other names...Look at your HISTORY instead of trying to get a 30 second sound bite...



Bet your Grandfather...worked 70-80 hours a week...was always busy doing something...never hung out in a crowded



room...etc the list is endless. Probably drank like a fish...There are things that went on in that house that your Grandmother and her Children would never say to you...



Am not trying to belittle your Grandfather who is a "TRUE



AMERICAN HERO"...Most WWII Combat Veterans suffered in silence...and that is the "REAL TRAGEDY" !!!!



Ironic, but the DOD %26amp; VA are trying to do the samething



to the Gulf War/Iraq/Afgan Combat Veterans...



Dening benifits and treatment for PTSD %26amp; TBI...etc...



Making it next to impossible to obtain them...
I think it's because people respected each other more back then. It's an "all for me" world now. My folks used to have big dinners for the guys at Great Lakes who couldn't make it home for the holidays. People just don't care anymore.
Age; the average age of the servicemen in World War Two was 26 years opposed to the average age of 18 to 19 years which has been the case since the Vietnam Conflict. Additionally, the majority of Americans who served in World War Two had survived the Depression (1929-1935) where they developed skills that aided them during the war.
Not all of them did. PTSD was every bit as real then as it is now. However, life was much harder back then and nobody had the sense of entitlement that folks do these days. There was probably less of it because of this.
Ira Hayes died in a drunken stupor...maybe he was the exception?
I think it has a lot to do with the world they come back to as well as the generation.



The 'Greatest Generation' endured the hardships and poverty of the depression while the Baby Boomers and Generation Xers lived a life of luxury until they were put on the front lines. I think the depression was kind of like an inoculation for the older generation.



Also the Vietnam and Iraq vets came back to people protesting and spitting on them while they were expecting a hero's welcome after being put through hell for months or years.



Drugs definitely have an effect on someone's personality too, especially if they amplify their wartime experiences.



WWII was also a war fought by the entire country, with most males entering service and females laboring at home for the war effort or as nurses or ferry pilots. There was a lot of mutual support and friendships after the war; not so with modern conflicts.
They weren't able to adjust as well as you believe.



Instead they had to deal with the effects by suppressing it, alcoholism and other jury-rigged methods to function. It was not until the Vietnam veterans raised awareness about the problem that the medical community even admitted that it exists.



Your grandfather was simply one of the 85% of combat veterans who did not get PTSD.
I believe there were far more people who fought in your grandfathers generation and it may seem like there are less soldiers who suffered the trauma of PTSD and other illnesses because of the higher numbers. I do believe that they suffered the same issues but back then people didn't have any really good studies about it and it wasn't something people talked about. I believe in your grandfathers time they had a greater respect for our veterans and didn't treat them as pariahs after they returned. I think the treatment of our Vietnam Veterans was the most shameful any person in this country could have done to men and women who did as they were ordered to by our leaders.
I think it has to do with the difference in time..Times were very different in the 1940's as compared to the 2000 generation..



Can you imagine having everything thrown in your face every time you listen to the radio, turn on the tv, read a paper..Back then when you were done fighting, you were done and it never got brought up again..



And for every person like your grampa there was plenty who were affected..



War is war no matter the time
WWII veterans spent months coming home - on ships, with their war time peers.



That kind of camaraderie, I think, allowed them to talk through their issues and to leave the war behind them slowly.



Today's veterans get on a plane and are home within hours. There's no transition from war to home. I think that complicates the issue.



We've also become a society of victims. No one is responsible for their own actions - we all want to blame someone or something. This had just started to be true in the '70s, and it's certainly true with the current generation.
WWII vets did have there problems. Most would never admit to it and dealt with it their own way. Back then most everybody enlisted or was drafted. Your friends, neighbors all went to war. They all come home about the same time. Everybody was glad it was over and proceeded to get on with there life.



Add to that, many WWII vets didn't do twelve straight months of combat. They didn't face ununiformed combatants till the push into Germany. The house to house fighting was mostly done where the civilians had fled. It was soldier against soldier, army against army.



By Vietnam and now in Iraq and Afghanistan, you spend a year or more in what amounts to a free fire-zone. There is no rear, only degrees of safer. Anything you do, including nothing, can get you killed. That ways on anybody.



They are a stranger in a strange land where the enemy they are fighting looks like everyone they are there to help. Add to that many or soldiers, sailors and airmen now come from the city and suburbs. They are not use to roughing it or doing without.
some were not.....



The difference is that the media and availability of information makes more people aware of what is going on all over the world.



The TV and media today focus on the negative things...the returning soldiers, sailors and airmen are no different. How often do you see a report on a returning person that seperates and gets a good job....or that re-enlists to continue to serve?
First a greater percentage of the population fought in WWII than in Vietnam or Iraq. After WWII the VA benefits were real benefits, so a significant number of returning vets could afford to go to college and buy a house. Without the opportunity for an education or a stable life, vets start to question why they fought for their Country.



The current President and his hero Nixon both cut VA benefits and closed VA Hospitals. The only current candidate for President who wants to give the vets there due is Hillary Clinton. Vets deserve better treat for what they have done for their Country. Just saying thanks is not enough.
As a veteran of two conflicts (VIETNAM and the 1st Gulf War) I have seen a lot of changes. The Vets of WWII had a hard life before the war. They had suffered through the depression and had already had a challenging life. They returned to a grateful nation and one that was much richer than the one they had left.



Today's veterans led a much more sheltered life until faced with combat or the stress of long deployments. The participated in Little League where everyone made the team and everyone got a plaque. They never learn ed to deal with hardship until faced with loss in combat. In our effort to protect our children we have robbed them of the learning how to face hardship when it doesn't mean life and death and when they have to face now they are unprepared and can not deal with it.



Today's fighting men and women are every bit as brave and well trained as there predecessor, but they are not conditioned to the hardships.
It's very simple.WW2 veterans just wanted to return home and resume their normal lives.The veterans of today "suffer" all sorts of maladies as a means of securing monetary payments from the government.Regarding the Vietnam veterans,a lot of those guys were messed up before they went to Vietnam.
Because you don't hear about the GI's killing kids and animals like you do today! And the GI's in WW II did not have as much access to drugs as the ones today! Imagine these people higher than a kite with a belt fed weapon under their control! Remember shoot first and ask questions later! Isn't that their policy! Ask these GI's today what the value of human or any life for that matter is and you may be very surprised what their answer is if they answer at all!
I don't think WW@ vets adapted any faster than those of more recent wars from Viet Nam to the present. If your Grandfather didn't show any PTSD then he is just a very lucky man. The battle of Peleliu and Okinawa created a lot of PTSD because of the prolonged fighting and the terrible weather conditions. A good book to read about Okinawa that talks a lot about PTSD is called "The Ultimate Battle" by Bill Sloan. I saw a lot of shell shock in Viet Nam and know many men today who are profoundly different because of combat. I myself am a very different man. Some peoples minds work to block off the terrible circumstances and memories and they never have problems while others have more fragile mind sets and are terribly affected and have those memories haunt them forever. Again I don't think anything is different in today's wars it is merely that your Grandfather is a lucky man and you are lucky to have a well balanced Grandfather around you. Be sure to listen to his memories so they aren't forgotten.
Less senseless killing and less access to drugs.

No comments:

Post a Comment

 
adware remover