The Vietnam War was not popular with the American public. Soldiers who had volunteered or been drafted were called terrible names, spit on, and completely disrespected. These people were treated horribly after their sacrifice for their country. They were returning from extremely high stress environments and were treated with just as much disrespect from their own people as the Vietnamese. While it is known, this war was highly disliked by the American public, soldiers were continuously being deployed to replace ones that were lost. Many service members were not only subjected to high amounts of stress constantly but they were dealing with deal and horrific scenes daily. For many soldiers, they become traumatized by what they saw, what they did to survive. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder first became relevant in this time. The amount of suicides from military members had risen compared with veterans from the other wars. While soldiers were over in Vietnam fighting for what America believes in there was also a war happening on the home front. Service members were at war with their minds and not everyone was able to win their war. Tim O’Brien’s book “The Things They Carried” displays the tragedies as well the alternate reality many young men faced causing PTSD.

Soldiers were forced to always be on the lookout, watching their back and every move that was made. The Vietnam war was not like any other war, no one lined up on each end of the battel field and storm each other. This was guerilla warfare. The Viet Cong would hide out in tunnels they dig which forced American soldiers to crawl into and pray they would be able to return to the surface.  Being in the tunnel was not the worst part as the “rest of them would fan out as security” (333) and wait considering all the possibilities of the tunnel “Imagination was a killer” (333). Expect the unexpected is the motto these brave men had to live by, after a while of not having any information the mind seeks out every horrifying possibility. All of this causes one to be under a high amount of stress. They were fighting in the jungle and finding the enemy was not an easy task “[There was] no sense of strategy or mission” (335). Each town they would come across they were unaware of what would happen they were forced to clear it. This means they had to determine if there were a target or threats there.  These enemies ranged from children to the elderly everyone was to be treated the same, many children fought on the Viet Cong side. This factor of having to end the life of children to save your men or yourself is a moral dilemma not many are forced to face.  This added guilt was big in the development of PTSD in soldiers as they returned home. Tying this in with time spent away from loved ones and a constant stressful environment, all increases the potential of a soldier to return with PTSD.

When military members returned home from their service for many lives was very different. These men and woman are forced to transfer from high stress induced situations back to the normal everyday life of a civilian. As adjusting to life become noticing difficult for many of these people loved ones became concerned. A study was done a decade later to assess the amount of Vietnam veterans that had acquired PTSD. The study was specifically for “Theater Vets”. These were veterans who were in Vietnam in combat zones. A fair portion of the military is made up of those who complete tasks behind the scenes. For example, the administration and machine workers. Anyone who was not in combat zones are still referred to as veterans, however many of them did not develop PTSD and were excluded from testing. This was the beginning to getting better mental health care for veterans.  In the first study, it was found that “Veterans who had PTSD were twice as likely to have died” (Corry, Schlenger). There was follow up study done 25 years later the first step was to find the veterans who participated in the first study. It was found that “428 of the 2348, participants have died” (Corry, Schlenger). While these deaths where not all self-caused many were. PTSD officially was recognized as a mental disease in 1980, which means Vietnam veterans where the first to be studied and treated for this. While many are considered physically and mentally healthy many still have symptoms of PTSD from there time in warzones (Corry, Schlneger). This proves that while many veterans seem alright they can still be suffering from their time protecting this country. 

Tim O’Brien gives the reader a glimpse into the world these soldiers were living in. Throughout the novel he talks about what they carried. Not only does he discuss the gear each person carried but also the weight “On their feet they carried jungle boots-2.1 pounds” (328). The significance of the stating the weight is to give the reader a sense of how the gear dragged them down. This is to show the more mundane side of what was going on. The idea of carrying something physical and of weight helps to the reader something to relate to and visualize the physical struggles they endured on a day to day basis. It also talks about how they “carried their own lives” (335) showing that while they physically carried things they also mentally cared things of great weight as well. The novel follows one group soldiers during the war, they continuously bring up “Ted Lavender” he was a member of their group who had passed away. The recurring use of Ted Lavender shows the reader how their reality had changed. When they speak there seems to be a reference back to him in some way, the perception of death is very blunt yet not forgotten. One passage of the novel talks about how one character cut of the thumb of a dead boy and kicked his head. This plainly shows how the perception of reality has changed and the idea of respecting the dead or the dead in general has been altered.  This idea that their reality had been turned upside down along with their morals plays a big role when soldiers return home to civilian life. While they are away it is like they are completely different people, many of the things they encounter are unforgettable and the idea of surviving takes over completely as the number one priority. The experience of war can be very traumatizing and being around people who cannot relate can cause one to feel alone. This leads to depression and can eventually lead to one taking their own life.  

PTSD is a big problem in our world today and a lot of it comes from men and women who return home from high stress environments as they try to return to the lives they once lived.  Both Tim O’Brien’s novel and the VA article relate to this topic of PTSD and its causes. The VA article gives information about the study, the novel gives a sneak peek at a world many young service members had to face. These pieces together give a great background for what was happening during this period. With the novel giving the war side and the article giving the home front side. Each of these display the ideas of alternate reality and tragedy causing PTSD.
