A Milblogger's Thanksgiving: Reflections on PTSD

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with joy, good cheer, and a sense of gratitude and inspiration. The mood was such that after my daughters and I literally collapsed on the floor from laughter, we decided to calm ourselves by watching a favorite movie: Patton.

So there we were, snickering as always at Monty, and marveling at General George S. Patton's keen awareness of his past soldierly incarnations, when the film arrived at The Slapping Episode. You know the one. At the height of World War II, Patton visits wounded American troops in a Sicily hospital. He is deeply moved, addressing the injured soldiers with reverence. He comes upon an apparently healthy patient who is weeping and shaking from "nerves." Patton flies into a rage. He slaps the distraught soldier, and derides him as a coward. Afterwards, the film shows how the incident nearly derailed Patton's career.

Watching the movie, it was clear that the unfortunate slapped soldier was suffering an acute combat stress reaction. But something else also occurred to me during our Thanksgiving film fest. Patton - who claimed to have clear memories of participating in combat from ancient times onward - also suffered from acute combat-induced stress. I cannot claim to diagnose these two men with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), especially since they were so fresh from combat that their experiences scarcely can be termed "post." Nevertheless, the fighting had worked a number on them. Even the slapped soldier, Charles H. Kuhl, acknowledged this about Patton in a 1970 newspaper interview. Said Kuhl: "I think at the time it happened, he was pretty well worn out himself."

And, as we know today, combat-induced "nerve" disorders can morph into full-blown PTSD. There's a lot of that going around. It's been with us for years. As Patton himself might have witnessed first hand in the Trojan War, even Achilles - who embarked on an extended rage when his friend died in combat - most likely suffered from PTSD. We've seen the syndrome many time throughout the ages, and have given it many names; but it all boils down to this:

Soldiers leave the battlefield, but the battlefield does not always leave the soldier.

A certain segment of society has long worked to pooh-pooh or to downgrade the existence of PTSD. It is, however, a genuine and highly debilitating syndrome.

In my own Thanksgiving-induced haze of gratitude and Patton-immersion, I was reminded that when we express thanks for and towards our soldiers, we must also acknowledge their needs. High on the list of needs: society must validate, research, and treat combat-induced PTSD.

Any solutions? Roman General at A Soldier's Perspective has crafted a Prescription to Address Soldiers and Veterans Issues, including PTSD. Much, much more can be done, but his is a good starting point.

I'd like to think that George S. Patton, my own nomination for Patron Saint of the American Soldier, would very much like to see this problem resolved before his next incarnation.