A Father’s Day meditation on the invisible costs of war

The inheritance
A Father’s Day meditation on the invisible costs of war - and their family legacy.
By Thomas Childers
June 21, 2009

My father Tom Childers and Willis Allen, my best friend Gary’s father, were veterans of the Second World War, prototypes of what we have come to call “the Greatest Generation.” Raised in modest circumstances during the Great Depression, with little in the way of social or economic advantages, they fought and survived the war, returned home, had families, and built successful careers. They prospered, joined social clubs, watched their sons play Little League, took their families on vacations to Florida. They were model veterans, model family men.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was not diagnosed until 1980, but the US suffered over 1 million psychiatric casualties in World War II, and in 1947 half the beds in VA hospitals were occupied by men with “psychoneurotic disorders.” Depression, recurring nightmares, survivor guilt, outbursts of rage, most frequently directed at family members, “exaggerated startle responses,” and anxiety reactions - all of which are recognized today as classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder - were as common as they were unnerving
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The inheritance