Lessons yet to learn regarding PTSD and Vietnam

While the following is an interesting article, it misses much. Agent Orange was a killer but since it caused physical illnesses, and that list is growing, it received a lot more media attention than PTSD did. The killer of Vietnam veterans was also PTSD and continues to kill them. The following is yet again a reminder of what we knew and when we knew it.

These figures came from a study commissioned by the DAV, The Etiology of Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by Jim Goodwin Ph.D.

I've read more articles than I can remember ignoring this fact. We knew what PTSD was and what it did and how many were wounded by it by 1978! Too many say we didn't know until the 80's and some want to pretend the Iraq veterans are the only ones in need of help to heal. They hardly ever mention Afghanistan veterans in most of these articles.

Vietnam veterans were no different than the generations before them going back thru recorded history. If you read the Bible you can see it in the Old Testament. If you read any history books on war, there again, you see the signs. Why? Because even though warfare has changed thru the centuries, man has not.

You cannot learn lessons from Vietnam if you ignore the facts, dismiss what was known and when it was known. You also cannot address the needs of our veterans if you dismiss the Vietnam veterans, push them out of the way, pretend they are not there and do not listen to them. Had it not been for Vietnam veterans, there would be nothing for the newer veterans. They came back with the same wound caused by traumatic events as their ancestors did. The difference was they were not ready to remain silent and suffer as if it was some kind of dirty secret. They found the courage to fight to have PTSD acknowledged and compensated for as well as treated. Had it not been for them people would still be scratching their heads wondering what to do as our troops and veterans kill themselves. As bad as it is, consider what it would be like if the Vietnam veterans were not as courageous as they were.

One more thing to consider when it comes to PTSD, society as a whole are better off because of what the Vietnam veterans did. The studies into PTSD were adopted by clinicians in the public realm. PTSD comes after trauma from natural disasters, crime, accidents, strikes the victims as well as those responding to these events. Anyone exposed to traumatic events has been able to be treated instead of ignored because of what the Vietnam veterans did. They keep giving back. They continue to be pushed back and forgotten in all of this as we focus on the need of the newer veterans. We still have not taken care of the Vietnam veterans, the Korean veterans and the remaining WWII veterans. We haven't taken care of the Gulf War veterans either but then never get mentioned at all by any of these articles.

This article mentions Agent Orange but we cannot forget about Gulf War Syndrome or the ravages of depleted uranium. All of our veterans are just as worthy of attention, treatment and compensation no matter what generation they come from but what the Vietnam veterans did ended up helping all generations. To ignore this is to dismiss lessons already learned by those paying attention.

Can lessons on Vietnam help Iraq's veterans?
by E. J. Montini - May. 14, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Shortly after speaking with Rep. Harry Mitchell about casualties of the Iraq war that may not occur until long after the fighting ends, I received an e-mail from Cindy Leach, whose father was a recent casualty of the Vietnam War.

In 2007, Leach's dad, James Hunt, developed cancer related to his exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam 35 years ago. He died one year ago this month.

"He was a dedicated Navy man for over 20 years and he loved 'his Navy,' " Leach wrote.

In order to prevent PTSD from becoming the Iraq war's Agent Orange - a killer that continues taking lives long after the fighting has stopped - Mitchell believes that the government must be more proactive.

"The idea is not simply to take the stigma from PTSD and some of these other conditions," he said. "We have to reach out and treat it before it becomes a bigger problem in the future."

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Can lessons on Vietnam help Iraq veterans