“What a cruel thing war is... to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors,” (Lee, Robert E.) is a quote by Robert E. Lee, explaining his view on the impact of war. War makes an impact. War makes an impact on the soldiers both physically and mentally, taking a toll on their minds for the rest of their lives. One of the biggest impacts of war can be shown by veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Resilience, by Eric Greitens, is a book comprised of the letters that Greitens sent to his former Navy SEAL brother-in-arms assisting him in his struggle against PTSD. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Burden to the Individual and to Society, an article by Ronald C. Kessler, covers the prevalence of PTSD in the United States. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is an excerpt written by O’Brien telling the stories of what it was like to be a soldier in the Vietnam War. The combination of the texts by Greitens, O’Brien, and Kessler give a reader a vivid understanding of what it is like living the life of a soldier, arguing that there needs to be more aid in the United States for the recovery and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. 

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is written in the form of an eyewitness account by the narrator, observing the daily life of a soldier in the Vietnam War. The main method that O’Brien uses to explain the lives of each soldier is by explaining what each soldier carries. O’Brien connects what each soldier carries to each of their life stories. Although he explains the physical things they carry to introduce each soldier, the emotional and mental things that each soldier carries are what O’Brien focuses on. “They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak” (O’Brien 335). Here, O’Brien reveals the memories that burden a soldier. These memories are what contributes to PTSD. These are the memories and experiences that follow a soldier back home, impacting the rest of their lives. “It was the burden of being alive,” (O’Brien 337) this burden, being the toll that the war had on the soldiers’ lives, is a toll that each soldier might never be able to get rid of, even when they arrive back home. This burden of life explained by O’Brien can connect to the life of Zach Walker, friend of Eric Greitens, a veteran suffering from PTSD. Upon his return home from war, Walker struggles in his normal day to day life activities mentally. “You told me you cleared your house last week. You got up around 0300, grabbed a pistol, and went from room to room, closet to closet, crevice to crevice, checking… for what, you weren’t sure” (Greitens 2). This quote reveals the paranoia that Walker faces, not even feeling safety in his own home. This paranoia prevents Walker from being able to live a normal life, always being held back by his PTSD. The paranoia shown here can be related to The Things They Carried in the paranoia shown by the soldiers, the paranoia that each had to endure due to the events they were witnessing. The burden of being alive, as mentioned by O’Brien is what is behind the paranoia of each soldier. Ronald C. Kessler further explains how PTSD can affect a veterans’ life mentally in his article Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Burden to the Individual and to Society. “In terms of standardized (for sociodemographics) odds ratios, NCS respondents with PTSD had 40% elevated odds of high school and college failure, 30% elevated odds of teenage childbearing, 60% elevated odds of marital instability, and 150% elevated odds of current unemployment at the time of interview compared to people without PTSD” (Kessler 8). This quote reveals the many ways that PTSD can affect a person mentally. PTSD affects a person’s relationships, and how they live their daily lives, crippling them from reaching their potential in society. 

PTSD can be very hard to recognize and diagnose. A majority of people suffering from the disorder do not even realize that they have a problem. “Walker, you used to ignore your own brutal reality. I remember you telling me that you were working, taking care of the family, paying the mortgage, getting stuff done, and drinking on the weekend. After one beer you’d be bitching about all of the guys who’d come home from the war and were whining about PTSD. You’d pretend that you had it all together. You were lying to yourself” (Greitens 33). This quote reveals how walker could not even recognize that he had a problem. Just as a person with PTSD may be in denial of the fact, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men were in denial about the death of Lavender in the passage where they burned the village of Than Khe. Even though he was facing problems in simple life activities, such as sleeping or driving a car, he was in denial of the fact that he was suffering from a disorder. This sense of denial among those with PTSD is shown by Kessler in his quote “62% of PTSD cases in the NCS who were not in treatment is that those respondents did not think they had a problem” (Kessler 10). This shows that all across the United States there are people suffering from PTSD and not even seeking treatment. The first step in working towards treatment of all people with PTSD in the United States is raising awareness so those with PTSD know how to seek help. These United States Veterans experienced some of the same brutal realities that the soldiers in The Things They Carried did, whether it was the homesickness, or the loss of a comrade. 

Everyone with PTSD can overcome it in their own way. Treatment is different for everyone. “You’ve been waking up in puddles of sweat. It would be tempting-very tempting- to imagine that you’re just having bad dreams. It would be even more tempting to slap a medical diagnosis on what’s going on and to let some doctor pump you full of pills” (Greitens 3). This quote shows Greitens advice for Walker on how he should overcome his PTSD. Greitens suggests that overcoming the disorder with mental toughness, and with resilience, rather than relying on any medication. He believes that overcoming PTSD naturally is tough, but his good friend Walker will be a much stronger man because of it. “General population research in the United States estimates that 38% of people with PTSD are in treatment in a given year” (Kessler 11). This 38% is treated in a multitude of ways. They can be treated by means of medication, or some sort of therapy. Kessler agrees with Greitens, believing that overcoming PTSD should be done naturally, focusing on therapy for overcoming the disorders. The next step in treatment for veterans suffering with PTSD in the United States is to provide means of natural treatment such as group therapy, in the hopes of attracting more and more of those suffering towards seeking help.

The combination of the work by Greitens and O’Brien paint a vivid picture of what it is like to live the life of a soldier both overseas and when they come back home, both equally as challenging. The experiences that the soldiers of the Vietnam War witnessed are what makes Greitens message so much more important, and the treatment of PTSD seems so much more needed. American soldiers are the some of the toughest men in the world, but even the tough need help. “When they squealed, or wanted to squeal but couldn’t” (O’Brien 337). This quote reveals that war can be detrimental to even the toughest of men. “Cringed and sobbed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and to God and to their mothers and fathers, hoping not to die” (O’Brien 337). Nobody in American society has to worry or fear death on a daily basis, but these soldiers, it becomes a normality. Part of curing PTSD must be eliminating this fear, a fear that if not healed, will last with a veteran for a lifetime.

One of the hardest parts of a soldier’s life is his return home. The transition to a standard American life after experiencing war is challenging. A soldier must go from carrying M-16’s, to carrying briefcases. They once carried wounded comrades over their shoulder, now they carry their sons and daughters in their arms. Once they were woken up to the sound of explosions and gunshots, now they are awoken by alarm clocks on their nightstands. The combination of the texts by Greitens, O’Brien, and Kessler give a reader a vivid understanding of what it is like living the life of a soldier, arguing that there needs to be more aid in the United States for the recovery and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. PTSD is a disorder affecting many of this nations brave veterans, the least that the citizens of the United States could do to thank them for their service is offer a means in which they can overcome this crippling disorder.
