tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51747391491280819782008-04-19T20:54:36.731-05:00carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-69425022341284697512008-01-16T13:57:00.000-05:002008-01-16T14:07:17.213-05:00

I have recently been made aware of an entire group of forgotten children of World War II. These are the tens of thousands of children fathered by American GIs during the war in countries such as England, France, Netherlands and post war in Germany and Austria. Many of these children grew up fatherless - in many cases, their American fathers either died in the war or returned home not aware of

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-9382897490441546622007-05-28T18:22:00.000-05:002007-05-28T18:29:25.210-05:00

The book Flashback by Penny Coleman deals with PTSD and suicide. Even though the focus is on Vietnam, there is a small section about WWII. I am quoting for educational purposes. "Fully 60 percent of the postwar VA patients were psychiatric. Limited funds and limited space opened the door for one of medical history's most obscene experiments: the ice pick lobotomy" (p. 54). The vast majority of

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-28044385001754957102007-04-28T13:09:00.000-05:002007-04-28T13:23:18.300-05:00

This 2002 book was the first one that really focused on the combat trauma the WWII generation suffered and what it did to a family. Collins' father had left Yale in 1943 to join the Marines and returned after the war "emotionally and invisibly scarred". He never lived up to his early promise. She notes that the young boy who went to war came back a "soul weary man". Like so many of the children

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-68255010296543767312007-04-19T12:10:00.000-05:002007-04-19T12:23:41.223-05:00

Tom Matthews' book , Our Fathers' War - In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation, outlines the difficult relationships between sons of combat vet fathers of World War II. He intertwines his story with that of 9 other sons who have the same strained, tense relationship with their fathers. I don't know if the WWII fathers were tougher on their sons than their daughters, but from the description in

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-79650578805011230762007-04-04T12:27:00.000-05:002007-04-18T21:48:54.492-05:00

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060206233356.htm A 2006 study done by investigating Civil War records at the National Archives demonstrated that war trauma can be documented in this country back to the Civil War. It was called "irritable heart or soldier's heart" and was connected with a lifetime of higher rates of physical and mental disorders in those who had seen combat. The factors

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-15296794178973473122007-03-25T12:18:00.000-05:002007-03-25T12:29:08.410-05:00

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/185009-3/MaineNews/World_War_II_vets_learning_to_not_suffer_in_silence/ At this Maine vet center, there are support groups for surviving veterans of past and current wars. There are 2 groups for WWII veterans who are now in their 80s. Many of them have been living with unexpressed trauma for decades. Mental health programs were not available to anyone except

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-40060807408257887182007-03-17T11:34:00.000-05:002007-03-17T11:40:21.729-05:00

In a 2003 American Journal of Nursing article, Charles Kaiman discusses the therapy group he ran for elderly WWII veterans with delayed onset PTSD. Aging can cause the intrusive memories, survivior's guilt and unresolved grief of the combat vet to appear after many years of repression. Exacerbation of PTSD in elderly veterans is common. This should be taken seriously since there are many

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-19355976894404937102007-03-03T20:16:00.000-05:002007-03-10T19:34:22.807-05:00

Children of vets with PTSD have often been ignored in discussion of the issue. Some research has been conducted - mainly on children of Vietnam vets - that is probably applicable to children of combat vets of other wars. There are a number of mechanisms used by the children: over-identification with the PTSD affected parent; secondary traumatization; a rescuer role; depression and anxiety. These

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-55681583086908334022007-02-23T15:12:00.000-05:002007-02-23T15:18:42.202-05:00

The article by Mark Van Ells (click on post title for link) published in VFW magazine in 2002 demonstrates how for a small number of WWII vets the war never ended. According to the author, only about 6% of the 16 million servicemen actually saw sustained combat. Maybe that's why the myth of the well-adjusted WWII vet began. So many had not seen combat and therefore had not experienced the trauma

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-79157098171770512692007-02-20T11:37:00.000-05:002007-03-10T19:36:21.250-05:00

Ilona Meagher's blog(click on favorite links) is a wonderful resource for all who are concerned about our military who have PTSD. I have been inspired by her commitment to this issue and credit her with making many aware of the limitations of the care given to our brave veterans.

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-32611543547953982372007-02-17T18:10:00.000-05:002007-02-17T18:16:48.297-05:00

This link (click on title) is to an interview with a poet who has captured the allure and madness of war. Patricia Monaghan is a daughter of a WWII and Korean war vet who is eloquently breaking the silence of the boomer children who never quite understood the trauma experienced by their fathers. It took the Vietnam war and discussion of PTSD for me to personally comprehend the journey my father

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-65434873431217406282007-02-16T18:44:00.000-05:002007-02-16T18:50:02.251-05:00

I am in the process of getting tax exempt status for our Daughters of D-Day nonprofit, which is still in the beginning stages. We would like to create an educational program for schoolchildren wherein the children of the vets can tell their dads' stories in the historical context, but their children can add the personal touch which makes history more compelling.

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-18469845116295951352007-02-15T09:45:00.000-05:002007-02-15T12:58:12.709-05:00

This article (click on title of Post) in the Ledger-Enquirer shows the long lasting effects of PTSD on a Vietnam Vet. The alcohol abuse, the nightmares are similar to that of WWII vets who were never diagnosed correctly, just like the Vietnam vet in this article. The therapist mentioned, Dr. Bridget Cantrell, had a WWII and Korean war veteran dad and she is empathetic to what the families go

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5174739149128081978.post-20633059655208849342007-02-14T19:35:00.000-05:002007-02-14T19:45:07.240-05:00

I'm the daughter of two World War II veterans - one (my dad) a "hero" who was portrayed in the movie and The Longest Day and written about in quite a few military history books. My other dad (my stepdad) is one of the nameless millions who did their service and came home and lived the Greatest Generation mythical life. Just guess which one had the alcoholism, 2 children dying premature deaths

carolsvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03334112717003545482noreply@blogger.com