Hi all.

While I realize that the focus is on current conflicts or even a few like Vietnam that are best known for the concept of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I'd like to say that WWII vets also had a high incidence of what was called then "Combat Fatigue" or "Battle Fatigue."  Back then, mental health issues were not understood well, not even by Army generals like George Patton, who infamously abused and slapped several soldiers who were in a field hospital due to psychological stresses and temporary unfitness for duty.

I think the reason why we rarely think about this aspect of the Greatest Generation's wartime experience is because most WWII vets rarely spoke about the war to their families. My stepdad, who died a few years ago, was one of these, and I only discovered that he had earned a Purple Heart and the Silver Star during his tour of duty in the China-Burma-India theater of operations.

a purple heart is a great accomplishment, you should be very proud of him. i think realistically no matter what war people fought most would probably experience this. but  you are right that the terms werent around back then. i dont think civilians really know or can imagine what soldiers go through when they go off to war. they experience so much and have seen so much by the time that they get back.