Unveiling Valor: Challenging the Glorified Narratives of Combat Through Veteran Realities. The Dichotomy of "Alive Days": Beyond Celebration and Sorrow In the documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq," soldiers who have narrowly escaped death on the battlefield share their deeply personal and often harrowing stories of sur-vival. These narratives, including those of Bryan Anderson and Eddie Ryan, present a complex tapestry of emotions and experiences surrounding the concept of "alive days"—the anniversaries of the days they survived potentially fatal injuries. Anderson's account, marked by profound loss and a stark reassessment of life post-injury, challenges the notion of glorifying these survival an-niversaries, urging a more nuanced …show more content…
Research conducted by Sayer et al. (2010) highlights the extent of these difficulties among Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans utilizing VA medical services. An estimated 40% of these veterans reported experiencing some extreme challenges in readjusting to civilian life within the past 30 days. The study further reveals that the average number of specific reintegration challenges faced by these veterans was 6.33 out of 16 possible areas, indicating a broad spectrum of adjustment issues. Social relations emerged as a particularly troubled domain, with many veterans finding it challenging to confide in others or maintain harmonious relationships with spouses, children, and friends. Moreover, 25% to 41% of the veterans reported extreme productivity problems, including difficulties in retaining employment and fulfilling responsibilities at home, work, or school. The research also points to concerning behaviors that may arise as coping mechanisms or manifestations of underlying issues, with 31% of the veterans reporting increased substance use and 57% experiencing heightened anger control problems since their return from deployment. These findings underscore the critical need for comprehensive support systems and targeted interventions to address the multifaceted reintegration challenges faced by veterans, ensuring their successful transition to civilian life and overall well-being. Concluding Reflections on Commemoration and Support In conclusion, the documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" and the narratives of soldiers like Bryan Anderson, Eddie Ryan, Michael Jernigan, and Jacob Schick offer a profound exploration into the complexities of "alive days." These anniversaries, marking the survival from near-fatal injuries on the battlefield, carry a dual significance that encapsulates both the harrowing realities
It’s hard for civilians to see what veterans had to face and still do even after all is said and done. The rhetorical strategies that contribute to Grady’s success in this article is appealing to the reader’s emotions through the story of Jason Poole. Denise Grady’s “Struggling Back From War’s Once Deadly Wounds” acts as an admonition for the American public and government to find a better way to assist troops to land on their feet post-war. Grady informs the reader on the recent problems risen through advancements in medical technology and how it affected the futures of all the troops sent into the Iraq war.
PBS’ Frontline film “The Wounded Platoon” reviews the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers as they return home and transition back into civilian life, focusing particularly on the rise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among American military members from Fort Carson Army base (Edge, 2010). Incidents of PTSD have risen dramatically in the military since the beginning of the Iraq war and military mental health policies and treatment procedures have adapted to manage this increase (Edge, 2010). In “The Wounded Platoon,” many military personnel discuss how PTSD, and other mental health struggles, have been inadequately treated (if at all) by military mental health services. Reasons and Perdue’s definition of a social problem allows us to see inadequate treatment of PTSD among returning United States military members as a social problem because it is a condition affecting a significant number of people in undesirable ways that can be remedied through collective action (Reasons & Perdue, 1981).
"Diary Entry August 16, 1968 Wounded On My Birthday." Redbubble. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 April
...often times tragic and can ruin the lives of those who fight. The effects of war can last for years, possibly even for the rest of the soldiers life and can also have an effect on those in the lives of the soldier as well. Soldiers carry the memories of things they saw and did during war with them as they try and regain their former lives once the war is over, which is often a difficult task. O’Brien gives his readers some insight into what goes on in the mind of a soldier during combat and long after coming home.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain. You only live once, and life is disastrously short. It 's anything but difficult to take a gander at individuals who are cheerful and accept they don 't comprehend your torment. The more established you get, the more you understand that joy takes work. Individuals who grin out in the open have been through just as much as individuals who cry, glare, shout, and so forth. They simply have the fearlessness and quality to grin through it. The loss and survival of many Germans and Jews during world war two affects people tremendously. These tragedies are part of Markus Zusak
Pvt. Fraser goes into detail in his journal about the day they were under attack. Fraser felt like there was no escaping the bullets they were flying from all directions and bodies were dropping too. Men were trying to dig in hopes of finding shelter but, this was very difficult to do while being under fire. The saddest story was a Red Cross worker who was attempting to bandage his leg but he died before he could finish due to his wound. Another soldier as he was dying told his fellow mates to tell his parents he died like a soldier. Experiences like this are life changing many soldiers have to live with these images of war every day and I know mentally that it is difficult. Pvt. Fraser story is one of many a lot of soldiers kept journals in hope that it would get back to their family one day. Writing allowed them to express how they really felt about the war and give vital information about there
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
Tim O’Brien holds a unique ability to show the realities of everyday life for many veterans. When you listen to him speak you get a feel of what it is like to be a soldier at war, not only ment...
...though people believe that, those on the home front have it just as a bad as the soldiers, because they have to deal with the responsibilities of their husbands, there is nothing that can compare to what these men have gone through. The war itself consumed them of their ideology of a happy life, and while some might have entered the war with the hope that they would soon return home, most men came to grips with the fact that they might never make it out alive. The biggest tragedy that follows the war is not the number of deaths and the damages done, it is the broken mindset derives from being at war. These men are all prime examples of the hardships of being out at war and the consequences, ideologies, and lifestyles that develop from it.
Seal, Karen H., Daniel Bertenthal, Christian R. Miner, Saunak Sen, and Charles Marmar. "Bringing the War Back Home: Mental Health Disorders Among 103 788 US Veterans Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities." Archives of Internal Medicine 167.5 (2007): 476-82. Print.
“While more than seven-in-ten veterans (72%) report, they had an easy time readjusting to civilian life, 27% say re-entry was difficult for them—a proportion that swells to 44% among veterans who served in the ten years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (Morin, 2011)”. The military gives many stepping stones to be able to transition from military to civilian life. Many are required to take these stepping stones to ease the process of moving in another direction of their life. TAP or the Transition Assistance Program has helped veterans to better adjust to the challenges of re-entering civilian life by giving classes on skills needed to adjust to the upcoming life events (England,2003). Although the military
Social workers in all branches of the military are helping families and military personnel prepare for, and cope with, the hardships of war. They do so through a range of preventive and clinical services provided by the Veteran Administration with many different types of programs, including family-support and mental-health counseling. The mission statement of the VA Social Workers is to eliminate significant barriers to clients in need and offer interventions for veterans and families. It is accomplished by developing and maintaining integrated, in-depth programs in patient care, research, and education.
Seal, K. H., Bertenthal, D., Miner, C. R., Sen, S., & Marmar, C. (2007). Bringing the War Back Home: Mental Health Disorders Among 103 788 US Veterans Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(5), 476-482. doi: 10.1001/archinte.167.5.476
Anterograde and Retrograde amnesia, are the two main types of amnesia. Although they are opposite of each other, they are as equally devastating the individuals affected by them. The first of the two I’ll be talking about is anterograde amnesia, anterograde meaning after, is the form of amnesia where you can't form new memories or in proper terms you are unable to use or have lost use of your hippocampus the organ in your brain that is responsible for converting short-term memory to long-term memory. There are many causes for this type of amnesia, generally it is caused by some sort of injury to the brain like, head trauma, illnesses, alcohol intoxication, or even can be due to surgery complications. However, people with anterograde are able to maintain their memories from before the trauma causing the