Lifetime of Post War Suffering

A sad article about a World War II veteran who landed on Omaha Beach and fought through to Germany. His younger sister said her brother came home physically, but not mentally. He spent his entire post war life in a VA hospital, barely speaking. After he returned home, prior to his hospitalization, he paced the floors silently and continually. He died at age 86, having been living with war trauma for 62 years. (click on title for link)

Julia Collins book - My Father's War

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 of the WWII generation, the author's realization of the impact of the war on her dad and her family did not come until her adulthood. The full understanding didn't occur until after her dad's death. This is a great read for insight into post war family dynamics and the effect on the children of a traumatized vet.

Long lasting effects of PTSD

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 through.