Asha Parker

A Period
12/15/18
Midterm Essay

The Overview:
International wars can have a huge effect and influence on individuals and their families.
Many aspects of war contribute and trigger a condition called Posttraumatic stress disorder or
PTSD. "PTSD is a mental health disorder that can be triggered by experiencing or witnessing a
traumatic event."​1​ It is very common to see cases of PTSD in war veterans because of the
traumatic events they experience. One event, like a war, can change someone's view of life, how
they will live from then on, what kind of problems they might face because of what happened,
and more. In general, some global events may seem insignificant at the time, but there is ​are
likely individuals or families​ ​suffering from that event.

Brutal Battles:
The Vietnam War began on November 1, 1955. Vietnam was a major communist
country. There was an enormous divide in the country considering that half of Vietnam was
communists and the other half rebelled against communism. The country was split into two
sections, northern and southern; the north was communist and the south was communist rebel.
When the communist rebels fought the southern troops, it caused a large Vietnamese conflict. In
1984, there was a full U.S intervention in the Vietnam War, where South Vietnam and the U.S
were in alliance and fought alongside each other.​2​ They later went into war against North
Vietnam and communist. In this war, there were many brutal attacks, invasions, and massacres
that occurred.
First, there was an attack named the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive was orchestrated
on the morning of January 30, 1968, in central southern Vietnam. The Tet was a ​Lunar New
Year ​celebration, which was one of the most celebrated and important holidays for the
Vietnamese. This holiday had a truce between the north, south and their communist allies.
Although there was a truce, General Vo Nguyen Giap chose that on the next day they would
coordinate the offensive. One of the goals of this attack was to draw a wedge between the
alliance between South Vietnam and the U.S. There were more than 120 attacks coordinated and
many of them were on U.S military bases, buildings, and the Embassy. Not only were there
attacks on the U.S, but there were also attacks on 13 southern Vietnam cities. Many lives were
lost in this attack which reduced the number of American troops that were in Vietnam.​3
The next event was the My Lai massacre, which was one of the most horrific acts of
violence that was committed to unarmed civilians.​4​ This involved the killing of children and
women, which the Americans played a huge part in. Some U.S troops shielded the unarmed
civilians to help prevent them from getting killed. This was also one of the most controversial
attacks because it was covered up. The Vietnam War was the fourth war with the most military
deaths.
Another more recent international war that had a major effect on many people was the
War in Iraq. There were numerous battles in this war, but the bloodiest battle fought was the
Battle of Fallujah. This battle lasted eighteen days, from November 7, 2004 to November 24,
2004. Squads would go one block at a time, building to building, clearing them, which was seen
to be tough by some. Eighty- two troops were killed in this battle and another 600 were
wounded. There were a lot more U.S officials to be killed and wounded. "About 2,000 insurgents
were killed and another 1,200 were captured."​5​ There were numerous photos of Americans
hanging from a bridge in the city of Fallujah. There were multiple sights reporting that many
Iraqi people were standing at the bridges screaming “Allahu Akbar” which angered many people.
During the War in Iraq, many people were killed on both sides, not with just guns, but bombs as
well. The battle of Fallujah or Operation Phantom was known as one of the hardest marines
fought battles since the Vietnam War.​6
These wars were not the only ones that had multiple casualties and extreme violence.
WW1, WW2, Korean War, Civil War, and many more had a colossal amount of casualties 7​​ and
are still remembered today because of how horrific these events were. All of these international
wars have impacted many families and people largely and some continue to do so today.

The Facts and Effects of PTSD:

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is where a person struggles in recovering from an
experience or witnessing it. PTSD is a common disorder for people who go through and
experience a traumatic event. PTSD not only affects the person experiencing it but can also
impact the people who are around that person, such as family and friends. People with PTSD
struggle with day-to-day functioning, adjusting and coping. The symptoms of PTSD vary for
each person. Some may experience the condition a month after the event and some may not
experience it for years until some specific event triggers the person. PTSD can have an effect on
the way someone works with others, making relationships or maintaining them, and job
situations.​8
There are four groups of symptoms for PTSD: intrusive memories, avoidance, changes
with negative thing and moods, and physical and emotional changes. Intrusive memories include
nightmares about the event, flashbacks, stressful memories, and severe emotions when reminded
of the event. Avoidance includes avoiding loud places or talking about the subject. For the
negative behavior, some experience difficulty keeping relationships, being detached from friends
and family, and interest loss. Lastly, physical and emotional changes consist of sleeping issues,
constantly being frightened, outburst and aggressive behavior.​9​ There are many traumatic events
that can contribute to PTSD, sexual and physical assault, physical abuse, accidents, and exposure
to combat.
Experiencing, witnessing, exposure, and directly being apart of an event can cause PTSD.
PTSD doesn't always have to be severe there are people who experience it more seriously than
others, but it still affects the life of the person who experiences it and the lives of the people
around them. Everyone experiences PTSD differently were it can be easy to treat others and
other times treatment just doesn't work, but there is a treatment for PTSD. Before there was a
discovery for PTSD treatment people would be sent off if they had it and would not be treated
because there was no "treatment" for it. Today there is an extensive amount of treatment to help
people who suffer from PTSD.

The Connection:
There are many brutal battles in our war history that have caused many war veterans to come
back with PTSD. Many things cause and trigger PTSD and combat is one of them. PTSD is very
common in war veterans because it derives from experiencing or witnessing combat.
Some aspects of war include physical abuse or assault on a person which is also a trigger to
PTSD. In the Vietnam War, there were many accounts of abuse, assault, and violence that
occurred during this war. For an example, there was the My Lai massacre that involved the
killing of women and children, which many americans took part in. Another example of brutal
battle was the Battle of Fallujah, which was known to be the bloodiest battle fought. Eighty-two
troops were killed and six hundred were wounded. Many U.S officials were killed and harmed as
well. Two thousand insurgents were killed and another 1,200 were captured and tortured. Many
photos of american soldiers hanging from a bridge in the city of Fallujah were displayed. There
were multiple sights of Iraqi people standing at the bottom of the bridge yelling "Allahu Akbar,"
which translates to Allah is the greatest." These acts of abuse, violence, killing and assault, are
all triggers of PTSD and cause major symptoms like hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, and
more. Combat with extreme violence has major effects on an individual's mental health and can
create issues with everyday life. ​A recently conducted interview talks​ about a veteran's
experience in the Vietnam War similar to the ones listed which caused him, Marvin Blue PTSD.
Blue experienced the same symptoms of PTSD, which later caused a wedge in the family
causing him and his wife to separate for sometime, which deeply impacted their family life.​10
The Vietnam War and The war of Iraq were pretty brutal international wars and have some High
percentages of veterans who suffered PTSD after these events. ​Verywell Mind cite​ ​stated that,

"Among Vietnam veterans, approximately 15 percent of men and 9 percent of women

were found to have PTSD at the time of the study. The incidence over a lifetime
following involvement in a war, however, is much greater. Approximately 30 percent of
 men and 27 percent of women had PTSD at some point in their life following Vietnam.
there were about 479,000 cases of PTSD and one million lifetime PTSD cases as a result
of the Vietnam War."​11

The Vietnam War had a major effect on people after being exposed, experiencing, and
participating in it. Some of these people who suffered from PTSD because of the Vietnam War,
have severe symptoms of PTSD because of the experiences these veterans had in this war. This
article also states that:

"The majority of soldiers were exposed to some kind of traumatic, combat-related

situations, such as being attacked or ambushed (92 percent), seeing dead bodies (94.5
percent), being shot at (95 percent), and/or knowing someone who was seriously injured
or killed (86.5 percent)."​12
All of these events occurred during the war of Iraq and caused major PTSD for these war
veterans. Since PTSD is triggered by experiencing and witnessing traumatic events, these acts of
war and violence can clearly cause PTSD. These kind of events are some of the main causes of
PTSD.

Conclusion:

Over the course of many years, there have been numerous wars that have been fought
between the United States and other countries, some more brutal than others. Many of these
wars, such as the Vietnam War (in 1955), World War I (1914) and World War II (1939), the War
in Iraq (in 2003-2011) and the war in Afghanistan (2001), have and continue to have a major
effect on people and their lives and continue to today. Not only do international wars have an
effect on an individual, but can also affect the individuals family. Going off and returning home
from battle is not an easy task and can cause mental, physical, and emotional distress. Many
aspects of war contribute and trigger PTSD.
 Endnote Section:
1. ​Mayo Clinic Staff, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)," Mayoclinic.org, last modified July 6,
2018, accessed December 17, 2018,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/diagnosis-treatme
nt/drc-20355973.
2. History.com Editors, "Vietnam War," HISTORY, last modified October 29, 2009, accessed
December 17, 2018, ​https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history​.
3. History.Com Editors, "Tet Offensive," HISTORY, last modified October 29, 2009, accessed
December 16, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive.
4. History.com Editors, "My Lai Massacre," HISTORY, accessed December 16, 2018,
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1.
5. Dan Lamothe, "Remembering the Iraq War's bloodiest battle, 10 years later," The Washington
Post (Washington D.C), November 4, 2014, 1, accessed December 17, 2018,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/11/04/remembering-the-iraq-wars-blo
odiest-battle-10-years-later/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9ea2c1f60c46.
6. Dick Camp, Operation Phantom Fury (Zenith Press, 2009), [Page #], accessed December 16,
2018,
https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/bookreview/operation-phantom-fury-assault-and-captur
e-fallujah-iraq.
7. "United States Military Casualties of War," Wikipedia, accessed December 16, 2018,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war.
8. Mayo Clinic Staff, "Post Traumatic," Mayoclinic.org.
9. Ibid
10. Telephone interview by the author, Office, Milford, CT, December 2, 2018.
11. Matthew Tull, "Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Veterans," ​Verywellmind
(blog), entry posted November 5, 2018, accessed December 13, 2018,
12. Tull, "Rates of Post-Traumatic," ​Verywellmind​ (blog).