Vietnam veterans serve as lesson to mental health officials

Vietnam veterans serve as lesson to mental health officials
When veterans of the Vietnam War returned home, not many were prepared for the psychological issues that some of these returning veterans faced. Some ended up self medicating with alcohol and drugs, which led them down a path to prison.
By Jaclyn Cosgrove
Published: July 8, 2012

Roy Bowman will never forget what happened in the jungles of Vietnam.

Conversely, he likely won't ever remember what happened the night he got in a bar fight in Lawton, and a man he was fighting ended up dead.

Bowman has been in prison for 36 years for a second-degree murder conviction.

Before he was arrested, Bowman was drinking excessively, trying to fight off the mental health issues he faced after the Vietnam War.

“This may sound crazy, but I do thank God that I was incarcerated because it gave me a chance to seek help and get help,” Bowman said.

Veterans represent about 10 percent of the population in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections prison facilities. An estimated 1,500 veterans are incarcerated in correctional centers in Oklahoma, according to DOC data.

About 3,000 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers returned from Afghanistan earlier this year.

State military leaders and mental health professionals have implemented programs in Oklahoma in an effort to keep service members out of the state's correctional facilities.
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