VJ Day

[Viktoria]

It amazes me that given the conditions and horrors of WWI ,and those of the war in Burma and Japanese’s prison camps etc ,the second world war in Europe ,then Korea ,Malaya and Cypress and Israel and Aden  ,The Falklands, that  there were not so many men with PTSD.
I know “ Shell shock “ was a blanket term ,but ordinary men like my father had no help, just had to get on with life, and a very deprived life given the economic conditions prevailing in the 1920’s and 1930’s .
Why is it then that so many present day ex soldiers suffer so badly from PTSD?
Surely what they see and experience is not different ,it is all hard and horrible .
Can it be that the openness that is encouraged is not necessarily better?
That is a genuine question and not a judgement.
Many men have changed, you never saw a man pushing a pram ,or shopping
for food. They had hardly any part in their babies’ lives ,change a nappy!!!
So is it their feminine side which gives them more sensitivity?
I am just curious , but it took some bottle to bottle up the experience of WWI
and all the following conflicts ,until relatively recently .
Perhaps someone knows if there were many more men affected psychologically than we generally are aware of.
Whatever, PTSD is a great tragedy .
Viktoria.

[josey]

I learned a lot from the book 'Judy' about a dog who was a registered POW
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_(dog)

[candleflame]

I'm in the uk and thought the commemorations today for VJ Day were very good. The determination of that veteran to lay his wreath despite his physical challenges was typical of the generation . Playing the theme music to band of brothers while the wreath laying was happening was very poignant too for me.
Tonights programme was beautifully done too and it was great to hear from the veterans themselves.

Thought too about my father who while he didn't serve in the Far East, was still in the RAF after VJ Day serving in Itaiy by then and wouldn't get demobbed until 1st June 1946. I'm sure they,  like the VJ veterans , were probably told don't talk about the war when you get back, as folk had built new lives by then. 

[Treetotal]

Attached a photo of my dad en route to the Far East and on his return from Burma in 1946.  The 1946 photo taken 6 months after his return!

You can see from your photos how the war had affected him, the horrors that these men suffered were never fully appreciated until more recently. If only they had the help that the soldiers of today get, their suffering would have been easier to cope with, for them and their Families.
I can remember my Father, who was in the navy, always talked fondly about his old navy pals but never spoke of the horrors. He and my Mum, both really good singers, always sang the war songs as they harmonised together when there was any kind of celebration, or at Christmas. You could feel the emotion that they were experiencing.
Carol

[Rena]

I too watched the VJ commemoraive service today and marvelled at the  beautiful surroundings, the readings, speeches and music.  As usual, the veterans were stoic about their own experiences but their faces told the anguish when they remembered the fate of their pals.

I remember there was a buzz in our street and in the local shops when news of Japan's defeat was broadcast.  The air lightened now that years of sending men to their deaths had ended. The Pathe Newsreels seen in local cinemas showed the world that what the grapevine described was far worse than imagined.  It wasn't until several years later and many pieces of film were pieced together to show "The World At War" was the full impact shown.

[River Tyne Lass]

Viktoria, Lizzie and Treetotal - this must be incredibly difficult for you both to know what your Fathers endured.  Thank goodness they both survived these horrors.  I agree that there it is a shame that there wasn't the help available that there is nowadays.

I have googled Judy and have found her story on Find A Grave - what a loyal and amazing dog!

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32657659/judy

[Rena]

It amazes me that given the conditions and horrors of WWI ,and those of the war in Burma and Japanese’s prison camps etc ,the second world war in Europe ,then Korea ,Malaya and Cypress and Israel and Aden  ,The Falklands, that  there were not so many men with PTSD.
I know “ Shell shock “ was a blanket term ,but ordinary men like my father had no help, just had to get on with life, and a very deprived life given the economic conditions prevailing in the 1920’s and 1930’s .
Why is it then that so many present day ex soldiers suffer so badly from PTSD?
Surely what they see and experience is not different ,it is all hard and horrible .
Can it be that the openness that is encouraged is not necessarily better?
That is a genuine question and not a judgement.
Many men have changed, you never saw a man pushing a pram ,or shopping
for food. They had hardly any part in their babies’ lives ,change a nappy!!!
So is it their feminine side which gives them more sensitivity?
I am just curious , but it took some bottle to bottle up the experience of WWI
and all the following conflicts ,until relatively recently .
Perhaps someone knows if there were many more men affected psychologically than we generally are aware of.
Whatever, PTSD is a great tragedy .
Viktoria.

After WWI the Americans tried to work out why some men suffered from various degrees of "shell shock" (look at youtube for fiulm of those poor men) yet other men didn't appear to have any signs at all.  They came to a solution and when men were wanted to have an active part in WWII, they did not conscript personnel with traits that would produce "shell shock".   Unfortunately, their research was found to be wanting when many of Uncle Sam's personnel who took part in WWII suffered from "shell shock". 

Frolm memory, I think the intention of commanders was three weeks on the front line and three weeks rest in camps well behind the front line.  This was to reduce the chances of one tyhpe of PTSD/shell shock through being under Continual Stress. 

The sound of pounding of cannons and bombs causes stress, what cannot be seen is the speed of the missiles causes blasts of compressed air which rocks the brain backwards and forwards/side to side inside the skull  - often this causes bruising on their brains and in some cases the damage is so bad that they will never fully.   recover.  I believe many men who served in Bosnia and experienced "snipers alley", suffered from PTSD.

P.S.  Early 2000s I was in contact with a paratrooper pal of my late OH.  He was a veteran but worked on an army camp and in one year three young paras deliberately jumped to their deaths leaving young widows to grieve.  At that time there was a train of thought that holistic reiki could heal the body, so why not the brain?  I haven't heard or read any research about this since that time.

[Viktoria]

I do remember my Dad saying ,and he did not join up until September 1916, so the first day of The Somme battle and that long barrage had already gone ,that in a heavy barrage when the huge guns were going off  all together for such long periods, there seemed to be air displacement ,and some men’s faces seemed to be moving ,as when someone looks out of a fast moving train.
I can visualise there could well be brain damage in those conditions.
The recoil of the heavy guns and the weight and speed of the shells forward
,well I can visualise turbulence .
The noise too, how do you withstand that!

I too thought the VJ Day Commemoration was lovely , just a pity the footage of Vera Lynn in Burma was not screened, it was on TV a short while ago when she was Interviewed .But perhaps too soon after her death for her family.
Lovely also to see so many Gurkhas, Indian and Pakistani veterans  included, they were even more brutally treated if captured than our  soldiers.
My son has a Burmese cat called Dits, after The Chindits .
Thanks for the information ,it obviously has not been spoken about openly until relatively recently ,so seems a new thing when probably there has been
an element there all the time, bottled up.
Viktoria.

[ShaunJ]

just a pity the footage of Vera Lynn in Burma was not screened

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5XBtko940