Ever since HBO’s The Pacific came out last year I’ve wanted to read the memoirs that the show was based on. I started with E.B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. If you know anything about the Pacific Theater or you’ve seen the show then you know that Peleliu and Okinawa, along with Iwo Jima, were some of the most brutal battles of WWII. To make things worse Peleliu was never really used during the war for any purpose during the war so it was a battle that was unnecessary.
Sledge begins the book as he is in college preparing to become a Marine officer. Early on, however, he decides that he does not want to finish college and then become an officer. So he and some others in the program quit and join up as enlisted Marines. He then goes on to describe his boot camp experiences and his training to become a mortar man. Throughout his narrative Sledge sprinkles in his personal insights as an older man looking back on the experience. These insights help foreshadow events setting up the reader for what is to come. More often than not though the insights tend to be a bit contradictory. He definitely sees war differently than he did as a fresh faced young kid. These contradictions are a good thing as it allows him to speak frankly about his experience but to also comment on his actions, other Marines actions, or the war in general from the perspective of time.
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is a manga comic written by Shigeru Mizuki. Mizuki is a veteran of World War II and this manga serves as the memoir of his experiences in World War II. He states that it is 90% true. I believe that this is the only one of his works that has been translated into English, which based off of my experience reading this, is a shame.
This manga follows one particular battalion that is stationed on Rabaul. As one of the earlier battles in the war the Japanese were not as proficient as they would become with their suicide attacks and the guerrilla warfare tactics that would make Peleliu, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima so bloody for both sides. (A quick aside on this. The Battle of Peleliu solidified what would become typical for Japanese fighting afterwards. Long battles of attrition with high numbers of casualties because the Japanese would fight to the death and refuse to surrender. When defeat was imminent the Japanese would go on Banzai charges or suicide attacks ensuring that almost all of them died. The casualties for the Japanese on Peleliu is estimated at 10,900 soldiers killed and 3o2 taken prisoner. Of those 302 only 7 were soldiers and 12 sailors, the rest were non-Japanese laborers. These types of casualty totals became standard for the Japanese. On Iwo Jima 21,844 soldiers were killed or committed suicide out of 22,060.) Mizuki confronts this directly in his memoir. He is a survivor of a suicide attack on Rabaul, along with around 80 soldiers.
Yesterday I spent a good part of my afternoon watching the coverage of the assassination attempt of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obviously a ridiculously awful event that as it gets sorted out of the next few weeks I am sure will get even worse. (Hopefully the fact that she’s Jewish didn’t factor into her being a target. Although the fact that the kid was a fan of Mein Kampf and Hitler doesn’t bode well.) This kid has serious problems and as time goes on the missed warning signs are going to become even more blatant with hindsight. However, I want to talk about something that happened at the beginning of the event right as media and individuals were trying to deal with the events that had just occurred. One of Rep. Giffords friends was on the phone with CNN and stated that she heard the shooter was “an Afghan Veteran.” The commentator corrected here saying, “you mean, a Afghanistan War Veteran?” To which she replied “Yes,” and it was left at that. The shooter was a veteran.
Of course that was speculation and hearsay and it has come forward that the shooter is not a veteran or even someone with military training. He’s someone who looks to have mental problems and is probably not affiliated with either party. My problem is that the speculation that this person was a veteran of Afghanistan (or Iraq) was seen as totally plausible. CNN and the interviewee did not mind blatantly throwing veterans under the bus by inferring that only a deranged veteran would do something like this.
The problem as I see it is that we have this meme that veterans are crazy, unstable people. We venerate them out of one side of our mouth and out of the other we infer that they are not mentally stable and are prone to flipping out and going crazy. This is something that I have been personally affected by and it is one of the reas0ns why when I meet people for the first time I don’t tell them I am a veteran. People automatically assume that you are a bit off if you are a veteran. It’s an unfair assumption and one that does further damage by perpetuating the stigma that is attached to PTSD. This stigma only means that those with it are less likely to seek out help, increasing the likelihood that they are going to have to struggle through life by themselves without seeking help. This in part explains why suicide is so high among veterans.
This idea of veterans being highly unstable is further perpetrated by Hollywood and their portrayal of veterans, which in many situations is unfavorable. Movies like Rambo, Brothers, The Hurt Locker, and others show veterans that are detached, unprofessional, and on the verge of going completely insane at any time, for any reason. Also to blame is the lack of care that veterans of the Vietnam War were given, and the fact that many veterans from that war are still struggling to come to grips with what has happened to them. It is over 30 years since that war has ended and many of those veterans have been struggling with these issues on their own without the help of medical professionals, family, or friends because of the stigma that is attached to PTSD.
People tend to think that people with PTSD are unsettled and incapable of taking care of themselves. It’s like we sit around in a pile of our own feces throwing it at people all day long. The reality of PTSD is that the things that most people take for granted we struggle with e.g. sleep. Day in, day out certain parts of life that most people have no trouble with we have to work a little harder (and sometimes a lot harder) at. However, everyday we get up go to our jobs or school and work just as well–and many times better–than others. We take care of and look out for our loved ones more than others because we understand the fragility of life and how fortunate we are to still be around. For every one veteran that has a problem and gets in trouble there are thousands who–even though they have problems–are working through them and still are contributing to society at the highest levels. It’s unfortunate that we think that the one is normal and to be expected whilst the thousands are thought to be rare. Maybe that is why while gay jokes and racial jokes are not acceptable in many arenas–like workplaces–it still is completely acceptable to make these kind of statements about veterans (and don’t think that this is a random statement not based in fact. This is a statement I make knowing that it is true because of the experiences I and others I know have had).
So the next time you meet a veteran instead of treating them like a rabid monkey try treating them like a normal person because that is what we are. While you are at it instead of watching some ridiculous movie take the time to watch something like Restrepo. There you are going to see that veterans are not crazy, but just regular people who performed extraordinary acts in extreme conditions; people who are just looking to restart their life and keep doing the things that many people take for granted. If you’re feeling particularly gracious or pro-active support organizations like IAVA and The Wounded Warrior Project. Those organizations are working to ensure that the politicians that sent us to war keep their promises and give us the care we need now that we are home. They also help veterans out on a more personal level. Hopefully, in time as people become more educated we will begin to see these issues in a new light and the stigma that is now attached to them will start to fade away, and also, let’s try not to jump to conclusions so quick–especially in situations like this.
I wish I could say that news like this surprises me, but I would be lying if I did, in fact, news like this, just ends up reinforcing many of my beliefs. The Washington Times has done an investigative report called “Disposable Heroes.” In this report they find evidence that the VA has been testing drugs on veterans without telling them of the potentially severe side-effects. I guess the only surprising fact of this is not that they were testing this drug on veterans, but instead, it is the brazen audacity of the government. They act as if there will be no recourse, and no consequences, and unfortunately, they are probably right. For years now there has been an ongoing controversy about Anthrax shots. It is still unknown if there are long term side-effects to these shots. The effects of these shots may not be known for years to come (if there is any.) However, the effects of this new round of testing are known:
the drug may cause serious side effects, including “anxiety, nervousness, tension, depression, thoughts of suicide, and attempted and completed suicide.”
The drug in question in Chantix, an anti-smoking drug. You would think that if the potential side-effects include killing yourself, and potentially harming others, that they would exercise more caution. They don’t, and they don’t care. I’ve been told personally by people inside the VA that the VA has been taken over by pharmaceutical companies, and that priority number one is to medicate the veterans. Anytime you go to the VA the first thing they try to do is put you on some sort of drug. That way the veterans are medicated, and the pharmaceutical companies have a constant stream of test subjects, and a constant stream of government money. This of course is heaped on top (or maybe in conjunction) with the VA covering-up the suicide attempts and completions of Iraq War veterans.
John McCain has been conspicuously quiet about this subject, and I have yet to hear him address it. Maybe that is because McCain doesn’t really care. He has shown time and time again that he is not on the side of veterans. Obama, however, has addressed the issue:
I was very concerned to read this morning’s Washington Times and learn that the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has yet again failed to take appropriate steps to
safeguard the health and well-being of veterans participating in drug trials.
According to a Washington Times/ABC News investigation, the VA took three
months to notify patients about severe side effects from the anti-smoking drug Chantix.
Almost 1,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were paid
$30 a month to participate in a study examining ways to end smoking. A total of 143 of
the study participants took the anti-smoking drug Chantix.
Last November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert
regarding reports that Chantix led to hallucinations, suicide attempts, and psychotic
behavior. Even though almost 40 suicides and more than 400 examples of suicidal
behavior were eventually attributed to Chantix nationwide, the VA waited three months
after the FDA advisory to alert its study participants about the mental health risks of the
drug. And when the VA did finally notify study participants, it failed to mention the
most serious side effects of suicide and suicidal thoughts. According to the Washington
Times/ABC News investigation, 21 veterans have reported adverse effects from Chantix.
In addition to Chantix, the VA is testing other drugs on veterans with PTSD that carry
warnings of suicidal side effects.
Read the full Obama letter here. We will have to see what happens from here on out, but this seems to have become standard operating procedure for the VA of late–cover-ups and abuse. The VA has their excuses about bureaucracy and rules, but of course, those don’t apply to the actual people’s lives they are ruining. They only serve as an excuse for their immoral, and outrageous actions. Words can’t describe the betrayal I have felt over the last few years, at this current administration and the VA, and those feelings of betrayal (by my own government and country) continue to mount, and I continue to grow more and more bitter. With actions like these it is no wonder that veterans are paranoid, and mistrustful, and tend to ostracize and segregate themselves from society, because the institutions that are supposed to be there to help and protect us, instead mistreat and abuse us. Again I implore you to read the article, and to spread the word, the fact that this isn’t on national news daily is a travesty. Our society is more interested in the celebutards, than in actual important issues. Of course if a soldier does something wrong in theater then it is all over the news, but when there are thousands that are mistreated it is a blip on the radar.
Today MLB announced a baseball related charity program that will help returning Veterans. Over the last few years MLB has been proactive in helping raise awareness for different causes. Their Mother’s Day breast cancer awareness and Father’s Day prostate cancer awareness are just two examples of how baseball has specifically raised money and awareness for these issues. I hope that their efforts to help returning Veterans will help raise the national consciousness on a myriad of issues that have been swept under the carpet by the Bush Administration and the VA. It is also good to see that even though my Mets have been horrible, our owner, Fred Wilpon, is spreadheading this effort. He is putting plenty of money, time, and effort into this initiative, and as a Mets fan it’s nice to see the organization and the owner step up for worthy causes.
At the news conference, where he was flanked on his left by six returning veterans, Wilpon began by saying, “This is like a dream come true.” That is how it is supposed to be for the average military person in combat overseas, finally coming home.
That is not always the case.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans under the age of 24 have an unemployment rate that is three times the national average. Thousands of younger veterans begin their military service after high school. After their service, many express the desire to go back to school, but have difficulty accomplishing their goals.
Additionally, according to the New England Journal of Medicine (July 2004), one in three Iraq veterans and one in nine Afghanistan veterans will suffer from a mental health problem, ranging from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, upon their return home. That’s what Meade has seen happening already among her fellow veterans, and it is one of the reasons Wilpon began efforts a year ago to bring this vision to fruition.
I seem to be on a Veteran kick today so I will post a couple of videos that I hope will enlighten people about how big this epidemic this is. This is a serious problem, and the casualties here are not being counted and are not even fully know. If you are sitting on your computer and have spare time why not send out some emails to your Senators letting them know that something needs to be done. It won’t take you, but a couple minutes, and it will help bring out change.
