Producer: James Gandolfini
Wartorn: 1861–2010 puts the psychological damage known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, under the microscope. Soldiers and family members tell their stories of pain, depression, and suicide. The documentary illuminates the sad fact that although PTSD has plagued those in the military throughout history, the issue has not captured the attention of the military or the public to the degree that it deserves as a severely debilitating illness.
Moreover, the veteran may also think he can get over it and deny seeking treatment. So the veteran does not become aware of PTSD symptoms until it may be too late. The veteran commits suicide or copes/behaves in an unhealthy manner that inevitably hurts his/her family and loved ones.
While watching the piece, I really appreciated the back-to-back interviews from both men and women in the military who describe their PTSD issues. Breaking the silence may hopefully be cathartic.
Courtesy: James Day
I find it heart-wrenching to watch the family members of PTSD sufferers. They get their son back, alive from the serving in war. But then they realize the returned veteran is a changed person. One father lost his job after his son, Jason, killed himself. Later, the six-year sentence behind bars for Marine veteran Nathan Damigo shows how ironic and tragic life can be. He gets sentenced for armed robbery. He admits later that he has PTSD. But he will have to cope behind bars instead of getting proper medical treatment.
Moreover, Army veteran, Noah Pierce, shot himself in the head with his dog-tag pinned between his head and the gun. Noah’s mother speaks so tragically about how the military forgot to “untrain” her son after he returned home from serving as a “killing machine.”
The documentary explores the challenges facing the family unit as it tries to function under the strains of PTSD. A most compelling moment for me was seeing the gaunt, anxious, and tired look of the wife of the Marine veteran featured as the final interview. She and the kids clearly miss having an engaged husband and father. The young children in the family seem so strong and wish for their father’s affection. But the veteran cannot help being withdrawn and fixated on pictures of his experience fighting in Iraq.
The Marine veteran then becomes anxious on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. He gets anxious walking down the aisles, so he leans on the strength of his wife and children to endure. Such mundane tasks become huge hurdles for those suffering from PTSD.
PTSD is a chronic condition that demands treatment. But the military’s history shows PTSD had not been regarded as a real illness. Gen. Patton in WWII is quoted in the documentary as describing PTSD-inflicted soldiers as weak and unable to fight.
Presently, the Army officer at Walter Reed said he is trying to change the culture within the military. PTSD-afflicted soldiers should get treatment right away, he said, just as if the soldier had a broken arm or foot. Let’s just hope this culture change gains more momentum. Veterans would benefit from top brass commanders who acknowledge PTSD and its seriousness.
James Gandolfini’s conversation with Mr. Charles Engel and the other uniformed officer gives the viewer a more humane perspective on PTSD: Although military men should be strong, if a fighter survives the battlefield emotionally unscathed, then perhaps he or she is not respectful of human life.
So PTSD may be a symptom that indicates the warrior comes home a human, just that the human needs some help. PTSD is a cry for help.
Still, veterans seem to fail to get proper treatment. The documentary makes one mention of the challenge in documenting PTSD for the Department of Veterans Affairs. In the beginning, one uniformed soldier says that it is not possible to document the one specific incident that proves you have PTSD.
In my Master’s thesis at Georgetown University’s Journalism program, I address the changes within the VA that may help to facilitate or ease the transition for soldiers who took the initiative to apply for medical benefits for combat-related PTSD.
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