Lieutenant Dan serves as a prime example of a veteran fulfilling the necessary criteria to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, as shown in the film “Forrest Gump.” In the film, we recognize Lt. Dan as a platoon leader in the Vietnam War, living up to his family’s destiny, expecting himself to die on the battlefield. As anticipated with being a soldier, Dan experiences repeated exposure to the adverse circumstances that come with war, witnessing violence in real time, and encountering a near death experience as his troop is ambushed. In this ambush, Lt. Dan faces severe leg injuries, leading to paralysis, which eventually leads to both legs being amputated at the knees. He had previously told Forrest Gump to leave him to die, however to no one’s surprise, but to Dan’s dismay, Gump rescued Dan cheating him out of his destiny. This ambush and the consequences Lieutenant Dan faced because of it serves as a catalyst …show more content…
Due to his injuries, Lt. Dan was discharged from the military and sent back to America where he struggled to cope and face his reality for an extended period of time. In “Criteria B,” we look at the presence of any intrusive symptoms Lieutenant Dan may have potentially faced. A few of the prominent intrusive symptoms Dan endured were the recurrent memories of his traumatic event, the flashbacks he had of his time during the Vietnam War, the expressed anger and distress he would exhibit when reminded of his fate, and the deep emotional pain he experienced. When he would be put in a situation that reminded him of the war, he frequently exhibited intense emotional responses, feeling the burden of the memories he had of combat and loss he suffered from the war, leading him to act out of anger and frustration, all of which showed the hints of distress he was facing. Although it was not explicitly depicted in the film, Dan often looked to be lost in