What was life like for Vietnam soldiers during the war and when they arrived back home?
Vietnam War Documentary: The Unsung Heroes
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
When the Vietnam soldiers returned home they were said to have PTSD, which they referred to as Post-Vietnam Syndrome. These soldiers were filled with anger because of this disorder and did not receive professional help because at the time the idea did not come to them and there was no where to go.
Most of the soldiers who were placed at the front combat line were likely to suffer from the emotional disorder PTSD. PTSD is defined as a mental condition that is caused by a horrific event and in turn they have flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, hallucinations and thinking about the tragic event that occurred. Some of the other indications of this condition are feelings of guilt, loss of concentration, irritability and sometimes even turning to a state of deep depression. Some veterans even felt alienated.
In 1990, a survey was done to see how many Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD, and 31% said that they suffered from this emotional and mental condition and 19% said that they still suffer from it today. Later on, a program was started by the government to create a safe place for some of the Veterans to get together and discuss what they went through with other Veterans called Project Outreach.
Most of the soldiers who were placed at the front combat line were likely to suffer from the emotional disorder PTSD. PTSD is defined as a mental condition that is caused by a horrific event and in turn they have flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, hallucinations and thinking about the tragic event that occurred. Some of the other indications of this condition are feelings of guilt, loss of concentration, irritability and sometimes even turning to a state of deep depression. Some veterans even felt alienated.
In 1990, a survey was done to see how many Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD, and 31% said that they suffered from this emotional and mental condition and 19% said that they still suffer from it today. Later on, a program was started by the government to create a safe place for some of the Veterans to get together and discuss what they went through with other Veterans called Project Outreach.
Missing In Action: Did all the soldiers return home?
During the War, many American soldiers were held in P.O.W. camps. Although, Vietnamese soldiers in America were held in P.O.W. camps as well, their remains were said to be sent back to Vietnam. However, it is believed that not all the remains of the American soldiers in Vietnam were returned. A reliable CIA agent was in Laos and reported back saying that he had seen 30 Americans working on a prison road. In order to get the word out about these soldiers, there were P.O.W./M.I.A. advocates, one was Sybil Stockdale, wife of Navy officer James Stockdale. There were attempts to locate soldiers and to set them free from the P.O.W. camps. During one of these attempts to free the American soldiers, they were not there because they had been moved to another camp. In another attempt, called Operation Homecoming, 591 P.O.W.s were freed, out of the 1,205 that had been said to be there in September of 1972, a few months prior to the attempt. There have been different occasions where America has tried to locate some of the M.I.A. and return them all home. On one of these occasions, Clinton worked to improve relations with Vietnam and in 1993 the remains of only 67 Americans were brought over. It is hard to say whether or not all the remains have been returned.
Treatment in P.O.W. Camps
While in P.O.W. camps, soldiers were supposed to not be treated that badly because the Geneva Convention (a compromise of four treaties and three protocols) stated that it was not allowed. However, it wasn't put in place in Vietnam. Soldiers there were beat with fists, clubs, rifle butts, rubber whips, and stretching joints with rope to get information. There were different large urban prisons and jungle camps, the most commonly known was Hoa Lo (referred to as the Hanoi Hilton by Americans).
Morse Code Tells All
Admiral Jeremiah Denton, a P.O.W. was allowed to be interviewed to talk about what he experienced in the P.O.W. camps in North Vietnam. However, what the interviewers did not expect were his answers: he made it seem like everyone was cared for in these P.O.W. camps. Later, when the interview was being watched, the viewers noticed his repetitive blinking and figured out that he was blinking in morse code: "T.O.R.T.U.R.E.". Later, Admiral Denton wrote a book: When Hell Was in Session explaining what it was actually like for him in the P.O.W. camp. At the time, he knew his life would be in danger if he told the truth, and if it was not for morse code, we may not have known the truth of what he was facing.