Mental Effects Of Vietnam War On Soldiers - Research Paper Example

? Mental effects of Vietnam War on soldiers PROPOSAL Background The paper in its core discusses the diversemental effects of the Vietnam War veterans. The Vietnam War commenced in 1955 and ended in 1975. It was fought between the South Vietnam and North Vietnam with a major involvement of America. The main motive of the Americans was eradication of the communist manifestation of the Vietnamese. Following the end of the war the Americans lost 58000 lives and almost 350,000 were seriously injured. After the end of the war when the Americans returned home majority of them did not either want to talk about the war or they were so much frightened by the devastations of the war that they remained stunned and silent. The only war which the United States lost was this. An essence of moral degeneration also played very strong in the minds of the Americans. The dangerous guerilla warfare was adopted by the Vietnamese and the U.S. succumbed under their tactics of warfare ending up being confused and losing their lives or being tremendously injured. Continuous war fought by them and barrage of continuous gun firing and ‘shell shock’ jeopardized the mental state of the U.S. soldiers as they were traumatized. They were seriously affected by mental disorders like depression, hallucinations suicidal tendencies, conflict in marriage relations etc. Mental shock among the soldiers also came from the pessimistic behavior of the country. They were treated as second class citizens and were cursed and sometimes recognized as ‘baby killers’. Discriminations were faced by them in unemployment scenario also. They were devoid of grants and pensions and proper healthcare. So the paper focuses on the description of the mental disorders faced by the Vietnam veterans like shell shock, combat exposure and mental disorders occurring from spraying herbicides like Agent Orange, effects on family satisfaction and functioning, treatment of the soldiers from the country and in the VA hospitals (Sitikoff). Research focus The research question addressed in this paper is what are the effects of Vietnam War on the mental state of the soldiers and what are its implications? The topic has been selected in order to examine the factors which led to the psychological disorders among the Vietnam War veterans. The justification behind the selection of this topic is to analyze the kinds of mental constraints faced by these soldiers and also the reason why these brave heroes succumbed to mental disorders despite being a part of this prolonged warfare. Literature review The states of mental disorders prevalent among the soldiers are invasive memories, major depression, night mares and loss of concentration (Cromie). A reevaluated study of National Vietnam Veterans Readjustments Study (NVVRS) states that war related PTSD which was developed among the men during their lifetime was 18.7%. A study by the Centers for Disease Control found that Vietnam veterans suffering from psychological problems were approximately twice as compared to the military veterans of the other countries like Vietnam and Australia (Aneli and Hendrix, 87). Research Methods A study about the different types of mental challenges faced by the soldiers has been described in this paper. Firstly a backdrop of the war and an account of overall psychological torment and deprivations of the Vietnam War veterans is provided and then in a synchronized manner the paper concentrates on seeking answer to the research question. For analyzing the different aspects of the mental disorders faced by the Vietnam Veterans qualitative analysis have been adopted from secondary sources like journals and authentic books. The focus of the study is on issues like ‘Shell Shock’ (Wood), mental problems suffered from spraying toxic herbicides like Agent Orange for clearing the forests (Singer and Hodge). A major focus has been entailed on the comparative analysis between the Vietnamese soldiers and the American soldiers who fought the Vietnam War in order to see the extent of psychological impact of the war on the soldiers and to analyze its underlying mechanism. Graphical analysis has been incorporated with respect to certain mental disorders like IES-R, IES-R-Intrusion, IES-R-Avoidance, IES-R-Hyper arousal, PDEQ, SCL-90-R-GSI.(Thanh et. al) The paper also analyzes the types of negligence encountered by the veterans with respect to treatment facilities in the Veteran Administration hospitals. This point is highlighted with the discussion of the real life experience of an U.S soldier in the Vietnam war, Rory Bailey (Witt). Expected conclusion As compared to Vietnam soldiers it was expected that the American soldiers suffered from more psychological turmoil and drawbacks. Indications come from the robust support that Vietnamese soldiers got tremendous mental support from their leaders and comrades. They were also very head strong with the motive of winning the battle compared to the American soldiers’ confused state of mind. American soldiers were also ill treated by the fellow countrymen after their return. RESEARCH PAPER Abstract The paper is focused on the diverse mental effects of the American soldiers in the Vietnam War. The end of Vietnam War brought with it severe perils in the life of the brave American soldiers who fought bravely in the Vietnam War. They were traumatized psychologically. Consequences led to diverse mental disorders among the soldiers of the war. They were treated as second class citizens instead of getting applause and proud welcome. Their family life was jeopardized. There was drastic increase in suicide rates. Mental disorders, drug addiction, depression became their parts and parcel of life. The paper analyses the extent of these mental effects on the American soldiers in the Vietnam War including psychological impact of war services like shell shock, combat exposure, and mental disorders occurring from spraying herbicides like Agent Orange, as well as the effects on family satisfaction and functioning, treatment of the soldiers from the countrymen and the VA hospitals. 1. Introduction The Vietnamese War lasted from 1955 to 1975. Following the end of the war the Americans lost 58000 lives and almost 350,000 were seriously injured. After the end of the war when the Americans returned home majority of them did not either want to talk about the war or they were so much frightened by the devastations of the war that they remained stunned and silent. The only war which the United States lost was this. An essence of moral degeneration also played very strong in the minds of the Americans. Returning soldiers were ill treated. They were viewed as guilty and were subjected to several maltreatments. It was found out that a majority of the American soldiers were psychology shattered. Virtually almost nothing was done in order to help the veterans of the war. The paper focuses on the severe mental impact of the American soldiers returning from the war of Vietnam (Sitikoff). The research question addressed in this paper is what are the effects of Vietnam War on the mental state of the soldiers and what are its implications? 2. Backdrop of the war The Vietnam War can be said to be a cold war that took place in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia starting from November 1, 1955. Between 1945 and 1954 an anti colonial war against France was declared by the Vietnamese. In return they received $ 2.6 billion from the United States as financial support. A peace conference was followed in Geneva after the defeat of France in Dien Bien Phu. This was followed by the independence of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam was literally divided into communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South. The South Vietnam was supported and financially backed by the United States. They refused to hold a reunification election as a result of which clashes started igniting within the North Vietnam and the South Vietnam. By 1958, the communist North Vietnamese led by guerrillas in the name of Viet Cong started raging conflicts against the South Vietnamese government. In order to support the South Vietnamese government United States sent almost two thousand military advisors in Vietnam. The number of soldiers sent by the US army increased to around seventeen thousand in 1963. Despite this, the military condition of the South Vietnamese declined and eventually they lost the fertile Mekong Delta to the Viet Cong by 1963. The degree of severity of the war rose manifold when U.S president Johnson in 1965 sent rapid air strikes and infiltration of ground forces. In 1968, U.S. sent around five million U.S. ground forces in order to attack North Vietnam. After 1968, U.S. president Richard Nixon slowly withdrew American soldiers from the South Vietnam. This created a compulsion on the South Vietnamese to take more responsibility in fighting the war with North Vietnam. War rose to mercuric heights with the advantages of the Guerilla Viet Congs over the North Vietnam. From the period of 1968 to 1973, the path of diplomacy was chosen in order to dissolve the conflicts. In 1973 American troops were removed from Vietnam and in 1975 South Vietnam surrendered to the North and the war came to an end (Learn About the Vietnam War). 3. An overview of the mental sufferings and deprivations of the Vietnam War veterans After the dissolution of the war, the U.S soldiers returned home and it was expected that they would be treated as brave heroes and would receive a cordial welcome. Rather on returning home they were cursed, spit at and were sometimes regarded as ‘psycho killers’ and ‘baby killers’. Being already shattered with the horrifying experience of the war and receiving such negative attitudes from the fellow countrymen several people succumbed to this pressure and were shattered with mental disorders and committed suicides. Nearly three quarter of a million became part of the lost army of the homeless. About seventy thousands draftees who were mainly non white, and badly educated received very less than honorable discharges. They were also devoid of educational and medical benefits. It was becoming very difficult for them to keep and receive their jobs, maintain a healthy family relationship due to the public policies shown towards them. Many civilians urged towards the necessity of providing medical facilities and mental support towards them but reluctance was shown by the administration. The administration denied admitting the fact that the veterans were faced with difficulties and required special attention. The government also denied the severe harm caused by the Agent Orange and neglected the cause of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An example of moral deprivation to the soldiers can be reflected by the construction of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial which is a tombstone standing in a sloping valley of death with the names of fifty eight thousands American men and women inscribed on them. Vietnam Veteran Memorial lacked all the glory, heroism, patriotism that other conventional war possessed. In the political scenario also the troublesome appearance of the Vietnam War lead to the division among the Americans and kept haunting the national spirit of America. Its very existence can be felt by Bush’s running mate, Dan Quale who had to defend his reputation when there were agitations against him regarding his usage of family political connections to be admitted to the Indiana National Guard in 1969 such that he could avoid the draft and a possible tour of duty in Vietnam. Later on Bill Clinton was also charged of accusations regarding evasion of the draft and organizing anti war demonstration. Such charges compelled the youth of America to conclude that the war of Vietnam was a morally ambiguous war (Sitikoff). 3. A focus on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among the Vietnam Veterans Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) became an ardent topic of research when in 1980s research on psychiatric response to trauma became official in association with American Psychiatric Association (APA). The main feature of PTSD is that pathological memories are created by trauma which in turn generates the characteristics syndrome of the disorder. After its origination, initially the study was confined to mainly psychiatric journals but gradually publications increased and today the stretch of the study is extended to a greater dimension and it penetrates the domain of television, radio talk shows, popular magazines as well as fiction. Basically PTSD shows the arrangements of the human response to war, violence, disaster and disturbing personal experiences (Beck and Sloan 86). The following section deals with PTSD among the Vietnam veterans. Before entering the realms of the study a short insight into the statistics of PTSD among the soldiers needs a necessary inclusion. 3.2 Empirical evidence Till today more than 30 years after the end of the war in Vietnam, it has been a topic of research for many scholars. Studies reveal that more than nineteen percent of three million U.S troops who returned home suffered from PTSD syndrome. The states of mental disorders prevalent were invasive memories, major depression, night mares and loss of concentration (Cromie). A reevaluated study of National Vietnam Veterans Readjustments Study (NVVRS) states that war related PTSD during their lifetime developed among the men was 18.7%. A study by the Centers for Disease Control found that Vietnam veterans suffering from psychological problems were approximately twice as compared to the military veterans of the other countries like Vietnam and Australia (Aneli and Hendrix, 87). 3.3 Emotional effects on US soldiers- The trauma of ‘shell shock’ The attitude shown to the soldiers suffering from stress of war have never been constructive. The fact was that during the First World War soldiers incapable of coping up with the continuous stress of war were considered to ‘lack moral fibre’(Wood). In Australia psychiatrists very rarely attributed the mental suffering of the soldiers to the stress related to warfare. They blamed that the psychological problems occurred among the soldiers were due to the preexisting mental illness in them. They were also blamed of being lacking in character (Wood). The emotional impact of the Vietnam War on the soldiers of USA was intensely horrifying. Until 20th century not much were known about the psychological turmoil suffered by the soldiers of war. But rapid endeavors have been able to bring in front the actual picture of the emotional effects of the war on soldiers by studying them psychologically. A phenomenon which was predominantly found in the Vietnam War veterans was the Shell Shock or the ‘Combat Stress Reaction’. Shell shock is basically the manifestation of the brain in order to cope up with the trauma of war and subsequently failing in the attempt. The sufferers recalled and re experienced the trauma of war even when they thought or even when they closed their eyes. Hallucinations had been a common phenomenon in them. The kind of war fought in Vietnam was drastically different from the other wars fought. The warfare was mainly based on the unseen Guerilla warfare which was tremendously violent using lethal weapons like cyanide ammos, massively explosive grenades, continuous barrage of artillery and machine gun fire resulted into the long lasting mental impact on their minds. The trauma of shell shock has been well predominant among the Vietnam War veterans during the ongoing war period. The symptoms included nightmare, nervousness and trouble in integrating back to civilian life. ‘Shell Shock’ and continuous warfare infused within the soldiers feeling of guilt that they survived and their fellow soldiers did not survive (Wood). 3.4 PTSD and physical disorders from Agent Orange Post traumatic stress disorder undergone by the Vietnam veterans can also be attributed to the ‘Agent Orange’. Agent Orange was an herbicide or a defoliant used to rob the Vietnamese combatants from the protective covers in the jungles where they used to patrol. An Australian nongovernmental organization working on the effects of Agent Orange declared that nearly one million Vietnamese suffered from cancers, genetic disorders and other physical and mental disabilities (Singer and Hodge 12). 3.5 Mental effects due to combat exposure-A comparison with the Vietnamese veterans Participation and witnessing severe acts of violence during the Vietnam War was indeed a common phenomenon. The nature of violence perceived and executed by the veterans included wounding, killing, torturing, mutilating civilians, prisoners of war or enemy soldiers. The soldiers returned with severe neural problems and mental problems such as acute depression, trauma and obsession disorders (Nock et. al, 835). It is a fact that the combat exposure brought severe negative effects on the mental health of the Vietnam veterans. Studies also reveal that the effects of PTSD were fairly high on the American-Australian veterans as compared to the Vietnamese veterans. A diagrammatic explanation can be incorporated here in order to show the relative increase in the PTSD among the American Australian veterans and Vietnam veterans. (Thanh et. al, 123) From the above diagram it can be inferred that the psychological disorders among the American Australian veterans were much more pronounced than the mental effects on the Vietnamese veterans. In favor of this it can be said that the situation of the Vietnamese veterans was completely different. The Vietnamese got strong support from their country and the local population. They fought their hearts out for their country, relatives and families. The founders of the guerilla warfare, the Vietnamese knew exactly what they were doing. They did not bear the passive or uncertain feelings like the Americans. Their fierce techniques of guerilla warfare which included the hit and run tactics, their fluidity and mobility left the American fighters confused. The Vietnamese soldiers got strong support from the Vietnamese population as well as from their leaders. As a result they felt safer than the American war veterans (Thanh et. al, 124-125). However the mental effects due to the combat exposure in Gulf war was much more severe than the mental effects due to the combat exposure in the Vietnam War with respect to several demographic parameters like insurance coverage, income and assets (Gade andWenger) 4. Treatment from the country on returning from the war With the success of the Americans in the Vietnam War in the Second World War a feeling of boast and superiority complex got incorporated into the sentiments of the nation. But the Vietnam War led the United States to pay a huge political cost. The public faith on the government and honesty and competence of the leaders were questioned. Overall the military was very much discredited and faced severe mental pressures. On returning home they were regarded as ‘baby killers’ and they were cursed and spit at. The U.S citizens did not realize that women, children and elderly people were taken as hostages and the soldiers had no other option rather than to shoot them in order to kill the enemy. In front of their own eyes they saw their fellow soldiers being blown up. As a result they took resort to drug, alcohol just in order to survive. After returning home, receiving such negative behavior from the country and frustrated with the horrors of war many committed suicides. Social unrests also cropped up between the blacks and the whites in U.S. when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. A feeling of inferiority played among them as they thought that they were deliberately bestowed with more dangerous jobs (Hagopian, 63-66). 5. Treatment at the VA hospitals to the Vietnam veterans The use of Agent Orange and spraying of other herbicides caused massive health problems among the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. Marine Dany Gene Jordan and his units were doused in Agent Orange sprayed from five C-123s while occupying Hill 549 near Khe Sahn in 1968. Like many others exposed to Agent Orange, Jordan came with dangerous amounts of toxins in his systems. Several victims suffered from depression, loss of sex drive, joint pain, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and soft tissue sarcoma. The U.S government, Pentagon and the manufacturers of Agent Orange denied the effects of the disinfectants of Agent Orange and herbicides sprayed. Military personnel were prohibited by law from suing the U.S. government for injuries that occurred during military services. The Veteran Administration hospitals were very reluctant to carry out their services (Westheider, 167-169). Rory Bailey was a U.S. soldiers who survived the Vietnam War in 1968 but he came seriously wounded and was admitted to one of the Veteran Administration hospitals in U.S. After three years of treatment and after withstanding some forty operations he was blinded and crippled and was barely able to talk. As food he could only drink liquids squirted down his throat with a syringe. After his recovery when the people of the hospital’s administration were questioned they said that nothing could be done. A 1973 report by Ralph Nader found the facilities in the Veterans Administration were ‘disturbingly understaffed and hampered by red tape—better suited to providing caretaker services for older veterans, it said, than to treating men wounded in Vietnam’ (Witt). Conclusion The Vietnam War although ended in a resolution in 1975 by the surrender of the communist Viet Congs but the perils for the U.S. soldiers started after returning home. The soldiers fought bravely and served to their optimum level in the war. But the U.S. chauvinism and misrepresentations among the citizens towards the soldiers created a negative impact and they were cursed instead of praising. They were devoid of basic amenities as discussed in the paper and suffered from several mental disorders. But they did not actually deserve this. This has been showed in the graphical analysis of the mental disorders faced by the American soldiers as compared to the Vietnam veterans. Theoretically every war will be criticized and have their own dimensions. But the Americans should till date, recall this treatment they delivered to the brave heroes of their country with shame. The soldiers of the Vietnam War are immortal and their names will always have an everlasting impact in the history of warfare. References Cromie, William J. Mental casualties of Vietnam War persist.Harvard News Office, 2006, April 14, 2012 from: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/08.24/99-ptsd.html Beck, J. Gayle, and Denise M Sloan, The Oxford Handbook of Traumatic Stress Disorders. Oxford U.P. 2012. Print. Aneli, Lisa M, and Hendrix, Charles C, Impact of Vietnam War service on Veterans’ perception of family life, Family Relations (1993) 42, 87-92, Wood. Megan, Shell Shocked: The trauma of war.12 April 14, 2012 from http://203.122.254.169:8080/amlibweb/lib/Subjects/Issues/ptsd.pdf Singer, Merill, and Hodge G.Derrick, The War Machine and Global Health: A Critical Medical Anthropological Examination of the Human Costs of Armed Conflict and the International Violence Industry, Rowman & Littlefield.2010.Print. Thanh, Dang Duy et. al, POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG VIETNAMESE WAR VETERANS LIVING IN VIETNAM. 2006, 12 April. 2012 from http://www.ffrd.org/AO/CGFED/12PTSD.pdf Gade. Daniel M, and Wenger, Jeffrey B, Combat Exposure and Mental Health: The Long-Term Effects Among Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans, Health Economics, 20. 4, pp. 401-416 12 April. 2012 from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1941333 Hagopian. Patrick.The Vietnam War in American Memory: Veterans, Memorials, and the Politics of Healing, Massachusetts U.P., 2009. Print Westheider, James. Fighting in Vietnam: The Experiences of the U.S. Soldier. Stackpole Books. 2011. Print. Witt. Linda. “Man in a Mask: A Vietnam Veteran's Lonely Journey”, 12. April 2012 from: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20063884,00.html Read More