Originally published on the CGS blog on June 3, 2007.
Part of the power of popular music is its chameleon-like ability to convey new (if sometimes anachronistic) meaning as a result of changes in the listener’s own life. Louis Armstrong’s ‘st. James Infirmary, for example, has developed new depth in the aftermath of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Our finest artists understand this ? it’s why Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to Pete Seeger and Green Day remakes John Lennon.
But it doesn’t take superstar status to do this — all you need is an iPod and a keen sense of history. I realized this recently when I went back and listened to the Pogues classic 1987 album, “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash.” I found myself drawn anew to their version of “Waltzing Matilda,” which tells the story of the Battle of Gallipoli from the perspective of one Australian soldier.
In particular, one verse keeps coming back to me. The narrator has survived the battle, but only after a shell has blown off his legs. As his ship, filled with “the legless, the armless, the blind and insane,” pulled into Sydney, The band played “Waltzing Matilda”/As they carried us down the gangway/But nobody cheered/They just stood and stared/And they turned their faces away.
It used to be that when men went to war, we sanctified those who died (go to the War Museum in Canberra if you want to see how much) and shunned the “wounded and maimed.” This didn’t just happen in Australia — get “The Best Years of Our Lives” on Netflix to see how some Americans responded to disabled vets after the Second World War.
That we now honor rather than hide our wounded is a good thing. But as the Walter Reed scandal demonstrated, we could be doing much more. Of course, it would be even better if we were not to send them to war in the first place.
But if recent news reports are accurate, it’s not just the physically disabled who are not getting the treatment they deserve. According to military.com, ‘service-members with [post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD] whose residual symptoms do not impair duty performance” may now be considered for duty overseas. Soldiers who already have served two deployments and who have been diagnosed with PTSD have been put on the “individual ready reserve” list, from which they can be redeployed to Iraq. And right now, neither the Pentagon nor the Department of Veterans Affairs keeps records of how many of our returning soldiers are committing suicide as a result of PTSD.
The National Institute of Mental Health defines PTSD as “an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.” PTSD requires sustained treatment even in mild cases. And it doesn’t always manifest itself in ways that necessarily “impair duty.” Although some sufferers have flashbacks in which they believe the traumatic incident is happening again, many others do not, instead manifesting symptoms that include depression, anxiety, and anger.
When I read about this Administration’s utterly inept response to PTSD, I was outraged – to a degree that at first surprised me. But it shouldn’t have – I was in New York on 9/11 and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD. I was lucky — I got help. Perhaps more importantly, I didn’t have an employer that forced me to revisit my trauma.
I have no illusions that what happened to me that day in any way compares to the experiences of those returning from war. But my own encounter with PTSD means that I know that it is not something that can simply be ignored without serious consequences for those who suffer from it — and for their family and friends.
The young men and women of our military deserve the best treatment we can provide them. Instead, this Administration, already having stretched our military to its limits, is choosing to send them back to relive the very traumas that initially caused their illness. And some of those ordered to return are choosing to kill themselves instead.
This is a national disgrace. That this Administration utterly disregards our soldiers’ best interests isn’t anything new. But its failure to recognize and treat PTSD represents a slow, silent, and ultimately deadly version of Walter Reed, with veterans all across the country not receiving the help they need.
Don’t President Bush and Vice President Cheney have even a shred of decency left? Or, like those Australians of a century ago, will they turn their faces away, pretending that the PTSD epidemic doesn’t exist?
The “ultimate sacrifice” isn’t just dying for your country – it also is living with the consequences of war for the rest of your life. The bipartisan commission created to investigate Walter Reed needs to look into how we are treating those of our soldiers diagnosed with PTSD. In addition, Congress should pass a new bill that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to create — for the first time — a suicide prevention program for veterans with PTSD. It has passed the House and is currently under consideration in the Senate.
We owe our soldiers nothing less.
