Ptsd & homeless vets

L

Lon

Well-known Member
Location
Central California
I can't remember many incidents of PSD & suicides or homelessness with post WW2/Korean Vets like we now have with returning vets since the end of the Vietnam War & more recent Mid East conflicts. SO WHAT HAPPENED? DRUGS?? Drug use among young men of military age was rare in the 40's & 50's and I got to wondering if the drug use which seemed to escalate in the 60's has anything to do with this current problem. Drug use among soldiers in Vietnam is well documented and I would suspect that the Mid East conflicts were no different.
 

PTSD has always been a part of the aftermath of war, it just wasn't talked about or was called "shell-shock". Nobody knew how to talk about those kinds of problems, it was looked upon as weak or oddball in some way. A lot of vets ended up as "bums", "hobos" or "in prison".
 
Vagabonds, rapscallions, charlatans, mountebanks, varlets, rascals, scallywags, villains, rogues, miscreants, knaves, scoundrels, footpads, hellions, reprobates, brutes, caitiffs, evildoers, blackguards, transgressors, delinquents, IMPS..........

The list of words synonymous with Society's defects is almost endless. :rolleyes:

imp
 
tnthomas said:
PTSD has always been a part of the aftermath of war, it just wasn't talked about or was called "shell-shock". Nobody knew how to talk about those kinds of problems, it was looked upon as weak or oddball in some way. A lot of vets ended up as "bums", "hobos" or "in prison".
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Here in Maricopa county, Arizona the sheriff had a special little party in our Jails to honor the vet inmates on Veterans Day. They got special food and cake.
 
Yes, Shell Shocked was used to describe military folks that were suffering the effects of combat,bombardments, visual trauma etc. during WW2 and Korea ,but when they were back home I can't recall many that continued having major problems, and I don't recall any suicides as a result, or any that became homeless.Were past generations a different breed of men??
 
Son, I beg to differ. I never served but have a whole family who did. My Dad did 4 years in WWII and has never talked about any of it really. Maybe you and vets you knew came back okay...maybe ya'll didn't share that deeply about it. Being in combat, the things you had to do as a soldier, if you were on or near the front lines had to affected you afterwards in some way. There was drug use in the forties and fifties too. It's just that it wasn't discussed. If you went to the VA in those days and said you had a habit they'd probably have you arrested. So instead of treatment you probably died, no more drug problem. Also the medical advances since Vietnam. You have more soldiers coming back with injuries they wouldn't have survived in other conflicts. Nevermind what IED's do to your physical and mental health. Conflicts nowadays are different, soldiers coming home are different...but I don't feel it's a different breed at all.
 
Over the years I have treated some vets who were still experiencing PTSD long after WW2 or the Korean war. Sadly , it had taken decades for them to find the help they needed. Some of their stories broke my heart. So many unecessary deaths, and

broken lives, because of the stigma and ignorance around this illness. One gentleman wept in gratitude that he could finally talk of his pain without fear of being ostracised. He is ninety three years old, and has since dedicated the rest of his life to

reaching out to old vets in nursing homes--bringing his story of hope to them.
 
Shalimar said:
Over the years I have treated some vets who were still experiencing PTSD long after WW2 or the Korean war. Sadly , it had taken decades for them to find the help they needed. Some of their stories broke my heart. So many unecessary deaths, and

broken lives, because of the stigma and ignorance around this illness. One gentleman wept in gratitude that he could finally talk of his pain without fear of being ostracised. He is ninety three years old, and has since dedicated the rest of his life to

reaching out to old vets in nursing homes--bringing his story of hope to them.
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I am glad that he made this progress, and is sharing his healing with fellow vets.
 
Tn, he is amazing! I have heard him speak--so genuine and charismatic. To see these elderly men and women's faces light up with hope and relief, is truly a miracle. He holds workshops, and teaches other seniors, in and out of nursing homes to mentor each other. Very powerful stuff. It is never too late to reach out for healing.
 
fureverywhere said:
Son, I beg to differ. I never served but have a whole family who did. My Dad did 4 years in WWII and has never talked about any of it really. Maybe you and vets you knew came back okay...maybe ya'll didn't share that deeply about it. Being in combat, the things you had to do as a soldier, if you were on or near the front lines had to affected you afterwards in some way. There was drug use in the forties and fifties too. It's just that it wasn't discussed. If you went to the VA in those days and said you had a habit they'd probably have you arrested. So instead of treatment you probably died, no more drug problem. Also the medical advances since Vietnam. You have more soldiers coming back with injuries they wouldn't have survived in other conflicts. Nevermind what IED's do to your physical and mental health. Conflicts nowadays are different, soldiers coming home are different...but I don't feel it's a different breed at all.
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Agree. And after earlier wars we didn't have 24/7 news and talk shows, the internet, etc. Additionally, after WWII and the Korean war, it was still considered somehow weak to have combat fatigue or shell shock, so it just wasn't talked about. But it was there.
 
fureverywhere said:
Son, I beg to differ. I never served but have a whole family who did. My Dad did 4 years in WWII and has never talked about any of it really. Maybe you and vets you knew came back okay...maybe ya'll didn't share that deeply about it. Being in combat, the things you had to do as a soldier, if you were on or near the front lines had to affected you afterwards in some way. There was drug use in the forties and fifties too. It's just that it wasn't discussed. If you went to the VA in those days and said you had a habit they'd probably have you arrested. So instead of treatment you probably died, no more drug problem. Also the medical advances since Vietnam. You have more soldiers coming back with injuries they wouldn't have survived in other conflicts. Nevermind what IED's do to your physical and mental health. Conflicts nowadays are different, soldiers coming home are different...but I don't feel it's a different breed at all.
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Absolutely beautifully explained, FEWhere. Thank you.
 
Shalimar said:
Over the years I have treated some vets who were still experiencing PTSD long after WW2 or the Korean war. Sadly , it had taken decades for them to find the help they needed. Some of their stories broke my heart. So many unecessary deaths, and broken lives, because of the stigma and ignorance around this illness. One gentleman wept in gratitude that he could finally talk of his pain without fear of being ostracised. He is ninety three years old, and has since dedicated the rest of his life to reaching out to old vets in nursing homes--bringing his story of hope to them.
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Thanks, Shalimar.
 
I can remember my great grandfather, a veteran of France, would sit in his rocker with tears streaming down his face,mumbling about the boys being gone. As his Alzheimer's progressed these bouts came so often they almost dominated his life.

Maybe he was the original coward and misfit ,right Lon?
 
I'm sure there are many reasons but one that comes to mind is that all the men who went to WW2 had been through really tough times with the great depression. They were case hardened when compared to today's young men. The were inducted and from jobs, farms etc and not colleges. I recall shellshock but saw and heard little about it. I wish mankind could outgrow the notion that the way to settle everything was warfare.
 
Just because you don't remember them Lon doesn't mean they weren't there. Unfortunately, back then vets were just supposed to get over it and take up where they left off. I think the difference between WW2 vets and those of later conflicts is that we "won" the war and they were regarded as heroes. Compare that to Vietnam Vets.....and to some extent Middle East Vets.....who were told that they risked their lives in immoral wars that didn't really have an outcome. We train young people to be ruthless killers and then expect them to slot back into society as if nothing has changed. Recipe for disaster.
 
Robusta said:
I can remember my great grandfather, a veteran of France, would sit in his rocker with tears streaming down his face,mumbling about the boys being gone. As his Alzheimer's progressed these bouts came so often they almost dominated his life.

Maybe he was the original coward and misfit ,right Lon?
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I never implied such with my post,
 
I remember my mother who had been a bomb girl, speak of one of her childhood friends, a brilliant man slated for great things, after WW2, he spent the rest of his life in an institution, mute, writing math equations all day, every day. Each time she recounted this story, she wept.
 
Something not mentioned in the posts about WWII. Those vets had a long time ahead of them when drafted. No time limits at all. When sent into combat situations, invasion of Europe for example. No 6 months then back to states. For duration. Many never came back. Some were lucky and did come back after the war ended. Then some were assigned to go to the Pacific till there was the soldiers strike in the states.

Recent actions were for many just 6 months then away. For many into Iraq it was 12 months then away for a while. Those time spans depended on the service you were in. Army was going 12 months then away for at least 6 months.
 
mitchezz said:
Just because you don't remember them Lon doesn't mean they weren't there. Unfortunately, back then vets were just supposed to get over it and take up where they left off. I think the difference between WW2 vets and those of later conflicts is that we "won" the war and they were regarded as heroes. Compare that to Vietnam Vets.....and to some extent Middle East Vets.....who were told that they risked their lives in immoral wars that didn't really have an outcome. We train young people to be ruthless killers and then expect them to slot back into society as if nothing has changed. Recipe for disaster.
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^^this.

A lot of vets end up in prison, a very sad "reward" for serving their country...
 
Also I'm not sure because I wasn't there but I think the VA was more on top of things after WWII. My Dad went back to graduate school and bought a home on the GI Bill. Now soldiers come home to a several year waiting list for mental health services and instead of the GI Bill they can go work at Home Depot, plus two or three other jobs to make ends meet. From what I understand America doesn't take care of it's vets like it used to.
 
Not sure what you are speaking of as my daughter spent 8 years in the Army and since leaving the military she has been able to take various classes to improve her abilities to work and live. She already had a degree from a university so no need for another one. But she does keep busy signing up for various classes that are supported by some mechanism of the government.
 
I think a long waiting list for mental health services creates unecessary stress for vets returning home from combat. Add poor opportunities for employment, and stigma around PTSD, is it any wonder many crack under the strain, turn to substance

abuse, and criminality? Shame on countries who use and discard these people who gave their all to serve and protect us all. Shame! How can we be so callous?
 

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