Soldier from the War Returning - The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming

Thomas Childers, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, has written a book, with the above title, from the heart. He details the truth about the return of World War II veterans. Using both his personal story, which includes his father's return from England and the death of his maternal uncle in the last bomber shot down over Germany before VE day (written about in Wings of Morning), he articulates the truth that many of we children of World War II veterans have discovered - that even if our fathers came home physically whole, there were invisible wounds from the war that we intuited, but were not able to put voice to for many years. He also thoroughly details the high unemployment and the high divorce rate after the war. A great read if you want to discover the not so rosy homecoming of the Greatest Generation.

The NPR show Here and Now broadcast an interview with the author on Memorial Day, May 25, 2009. (click on title for a link to the show's site.

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.

How PTSD Affects the Veteran's Children

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 children are at greater risk for behavior, academic and interepersonal problems. Jennifer Price, Ph.D. has developed a fact sheet for the National Center for PTSD that explores some of these problems.

Daughter of World War II veterans

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 and 3 marriages?

That's right - my hero dad. All the attention he got in his later years for his war exploits never talked about the legacy of war and the trauma visited upon our family.