The Vietnam War is potentially the most resented American conflict in history. Never had soldiers and politicians seen so much backlash from the American people. It got to a point where soldiers were booed when getting off a plane after just returning home. It was not the ideal time to be a solider. The conditions our troops went through in their time in Vietnam were some of the worst an American soldier has ever been put through. Although the PTSD during the war was tragic there was also the PTSD that soldiers dealt with from the responses they got returning home. There are even people today that are still traumatized by the events that they witnessed in Vietnam.

First off, what is PTSD? PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a condition that occurs from people witnessing horrific and traumatic events. An example of an event like this would be the September 11th attacks of the World Trade Center in New York. A fact about PTSD dealing with warfare shows that, “67 percent of people exposed to mass violence have been shown to develop PTSD, a higher rate than those exposed to natural disasters or other types of traumatic events.” The article on the Anxiety and Depression Association of America website also states that “Research has recently shown that PTSD among military personnel may be a physical brain injury, specifically of damaged tissue, caused by blasts during combat.” This disorder is hard on soldiers returning home because of all the horrific events they witnessed while in combat overseas.

An article posted on Stanford’s website titled “The Psychological Effects of the Vietnam War” states, “For many Americans, the Vietnam War is over and long forgotten.  Among those still suffering are several veterans who have felt forgotten, unappreciated, and even discriminated against.  For some of them, the trauma of their battle experiences or their physical disabilities have shattered their lives.” He even says that just the simple task of adjusting back to civilian life became a struggle. The author also states that the affect the war had on the soldiers was different than what soldiers had faced in the past or even now. Part of that he says comes from the backlash the soldiers faced because of the conflict. He says that this was the first war in America’s history where soldiers were not looked at with pride. The second reason that he says PTSD was so rough for veterans of the war was because it was the first war to be reported in full detail by media. That meant that even once they left, they couldn’t get away from it. 

Now how does this connect to “The Things They Carried”? Part of the PTSD that is seen in this story must do with how vividly everything is described. Every section shows different aspects of what not only Jimmy Cross carries, but what everyone else carried. For instance, it is recalled that Henry Dobbins carried extra rations because he was a bigger guy. He remembers that Dave carried a toothbrush and floss because he was so big on hygiene. Another instance of PTSD is shown in the vivid memory of Ted Lavender’s death. They were all waiting outside a tunnel that one of their comrades had just gone into, so while they were waiting Ted decided he would go pee. The most descriptive part though is when he gets shot. Lee Strunk had just made a funny ghost sound after emerging from the tunnel, and as soon as he did they heard a gunshot and Ted had been shot in the head. They recall his teeth being broken, how there was a bruise under his left eye, and how his cheekbone was completely gone. This is exactly what the article is talking about. These terrible memories have been engraved in the heads of these soldiers. It’s hard for them to transition back to a simpler life as a civilian when not too long ago they were in terrible conditions and watching their fellow soldiers and friends die at the hands of the enemies. The Vietnam war was already hard on the veterans, but the PTSD they had to deal with when they returned home could possibly have been worse on them. 

Another reason why PTSD was so much worse when soldiers returned home could be because they lose the mindset of being in a battleground, meaning they lose the soldier in them that was desensitized to everything going on around them. Once they get out of this mentality they realize all the terrible things they either did or had to witness first hand. The same article from early says the soldiers started to transform in Vietnam, stating that “As time passed and the soldiers gained experience and exposure to the War, they began to transform.  At first, the inexperienced soldiers were timid, frightened, and sensitive to the stresses and casualties of the battlefield.  They hesitated during combat and came close to getting killed.  They saw many of their friends right next to them being slaughtered and blown apart.” This caused them to lose their emotions and become robot-like. They were able to put that in the back of their mind and be able to just continue the mission as a soldier should, as we see when they attack the village of Than Khe in The Things they Carried. The story also shows this desensitizing in another way. It says, “Now and then, however, there were times of panic, when they squealed or wanted to squeal but couldn’t.” This shows how even in times of panic, when they should have normally been freaking out, they simply couldn’t. Their bodies had become so used to all these horrors that it became used to it. The soldiers that return home though eventually gain some of that emotion back and realize what they witnessed back in Vietnam. That is a true terror for the soldiers facing PTSD.

The image of watching a comrade’s death must be analyzed as well. The reason for this is because of how Cross and his fellow soldiers react after witnessing Ted Lavender’s death.  They became savage-like as they destroyed the village of Than Khe. The story states that they thrashed the village, calling in artillery and watching the wreckage happen in front of their eyes. The soldiers burned everything down, even going as far as shooting chickens and dogs. Lieutenant Cross experiences two different emotions when reacting to Lavender’s death, anger and guilt. He feels guilty because he felt that his love for Martha over his men ultimately caused his comrades death. Shockingly though the emotion not seen by these soldiers is sadness. Why is that? The article on the Stanford website says that the soldiers became desensitized to it. “The only thing that got them through to the next day despite their intense sense of fear was the animal instinct to survive.  And as the War wore on, it seemed that the fear and anxiety built up to a point where they could no longer tolerate it.  The soldiers grew tired of worrying about death and became desensitized to the thought of dying.” Because of this, when they see Lavender die they don’t get upset or pity him, they just carry on with more fire in their hearts, as if they want to avenge their fallen comrade. 

These factors made it very hard to be a soldier during that time. Whether they were in the middle of the battle or on the backlines saving lives, these soldiers have memories from this time that will never go away. The poor conditions, the new form of fighting style from the enemies, and the resentment from the American people was very hard on the mental health of them. There is no way to even imagine the horrors they went through. The Things they Carried is able to show a glimpse of what they dealt with in Vietnam, and the nightmares they brought back home with them.
