When therapists first starting diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as shattered soldiers returned from the war in Vietnam, the public quickly seized upon it to describe the fragile state of many of these veterans. It explained a lot. Despite loving families and existing treatments, they fell apart when confronted by unexpected loud noises or other shocks to their system. It was the new label for shell shock.
Initially, a PTSD diagnosis was applied grudgingly. The post-Vietnam military preferred to ignore the psychological trauma its soldiers had suffered. It would be acknowledging events it would rather not acknowledge, and be expensive, entitling its victims to long-term disability benefits and treatment. So the label was applied rarely, only to those who could prove they had witnessed firsthand traumatic events. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janice Cooper served as an aide to Congressman Tom Allen in his Portland district office. Subsequently, she was elected to serve as a member of the Maine House of Representatives for Yarmouth and Chebeague and Long islands. IF YOU NEED HELP
If your life or someone else’s life is in immediate danger, dial 911.
Maine Crisis Hotline: 1 (888) 568-1112
Maine’s warm-line for non-crisis calls: 1 (866) 771-9276
Other state resources in Maine: 211
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
The soldier first had to prove such an event had occurred. Given the slipshod record keeping of the military and the fog of war, as well as their reluctance to admit to the worst of the war’s atrocities these men and women had witnessed or participated in, this was often impossible. Nor would the military help claimants find records of the soldier’s wartime movements nor the current location of his comrades, now scattered across the country or dead, who could substantiate the claims. Often, no such records existed. It was unthinkable that the word of the soldier be accepted without such bureaucratic proof.As a congressional staffer, I helped one constituent with such a claim. I think his name was Terry, a Maine native with the stoic fortitude associated with growing up hardscrabble. He had been driving a Humvee when it ran over a little local girl, […]
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