Wednesday, March 10, 2010
World War II and Iraq War
When I think about the soldiers in World War II, I feel like they were mostly very gung-ho about fighting, and they thought of it as some big patriotic effort. But when I think about everything I’ve heard about the war in Iraq, it seems like it’s a complete nightmare for the troops, and a lot of people are scared. There have been studies about the stress soldiers go through, and one study showed that about 1 in 8 soldiers returning from Iraq reported having symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A study of World War II veterans shows that 1 in 20 of the 2.5 million U.S. veterans showed signs of PTSD. Obviously the fact that many of the WWII veterans are no longer living affects the results, but, the general idea is that the Iraq war seems to be deadlier. Maybe it’s because we are alive now, and seeing news coverage and know what’s going on, or maybe it’s the technology, with newer and more dangerous weapons, or maybe it’s even how we as a new generation react to war, but it seems like WWII doesn’t have that deadly presence that the Iraq war does.
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This is a very shocking statistic. It seems like in my experienses soldiers feel the same way about war now than during WWII. Many soldiers still feel proud to serve their conutry over seas and some do not. Perhaps soldiers are even more "gung-ho" now because there is no draft and all members volunteer. However, I agree that there must be some difference that causes more cases of PTSD.
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ReplyDeleteI think that there is a reason why most soldiers nowadays are more traumatized by the Irag War. The people who were returning from World War II had lived through,or had parents that were in WWI. They had daily exposure to war either through direct experience or through the stories of their parents, which "hardened" the soon to be soldiers. War was a common thing to them so it was not as astonishing and damaging to them. I think that if veterans of previous wars, came back from Iraq, and took a survey, that the results would not be the same.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jackie how it is interesting that people have a certain fear associated with the Iraq War that we have not seen in WWII. It probably is because the hardships of war is real to us and we are living admist a country where war takes a great toll. There is always political disagreements about the entry, and the taking out of troops, and we are experiencing it firsthand. It could also be because some people have relatives or people they know fighting right now, worrying about them, and not just an ancestor. My cousin Chris is currently serving in Afghanistan and my family is always thinking about him when we hear about new casualties that the news brings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jackie's point and how the War in Iraq could be considered more deadly and traumatizing. Although Iraq does not have the high death toll or casualty rate that WWII had, it can be considered more deadly in other ways. There are more advanced weapons and technology which makes the effects of war more prevalent and lasting. It seems as if wars back then were actually fought on a battlefield, while wars today are established by which country has the better weapons.
ReplyDeleteI'd wonder what a comparison to Vietnam would be. Also looking at characteristics of WWII soldiers vs. Iraq war soldiers may be useful (is one group more predisposed to PTSD)
ReplyDeleteAfter having a family member serve in the Iraq war I can tell that is is very tramatizing for him. Although he served as a doctor and did not see any fighting first hand he saw all the effects all this new technology was doing to the troops as well as the the Iraqi civilians. He also mentioned that for every new technology one side creates the harder the opposing side works to counter act it. It is more evident that the WWII veterans did not see as much trama because the technology simply was not there in the mid twentieth centuty.
ReplyDeleteI think the way American citizens reacted to each war also affected the soldiers. After Pearl Harbor, most of America supported World War II, but the majority of Americans were against Vietnam, and many of the soldiers felt that. More than half the Vietnam veterans, about 1.7 Million, experienced symptoms of PTSD, and they were generally treated badly when returning from Vietnam. And another thing for Iraq soldiers, many are afraid of military investigations, and often try to avoid firing their weapons, so I think the condition of America really affects the soldiers as well as the actual fighting.
ReplyDeleteSoldiers have experienced direct torture when fighting in war. Soldiers have lost close friends, and even other family memebers. I agree with Kristen, that although the Iraq War is not as deadly with rising dead tolls, but still it hits home. Never did the children of the 1990s see a war, besides the Iraq War. The weapons and technology is improving and becoming more deadly. The effects are more likely to affect those living in the modern day. However, WWII included the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor and the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaski. I am sure that survivors of WWII, are still affected by the number of deaths they saw. There were many people that felt fear during WWII, because they were unaware of the future. The Jewish were affected possibly the most, considering that they were fighting "a separate battle" for their lives. WWII has a deadly presence that will live on in American History, if people try to forget it or not.
ReplyDeleteAnother way of looking at things is what generations soldiers were brought up in. For example, WWII soldiers lived through the depression and knew waht how hard life could be and how to deal with hardships. Nowadays, people are pretty much given whatever they want. We live in a pretty good life and do not face many hardships. Ithink this may have a lot to do with the PTSD.
ReplyDeleteI think that maybe now we're more aware of how bad the conditions are which is why we think of the war in Iraq as being so horrible. Back then people didn't exactly know what was going on as much so it didn't seem as bad. I also think that it might not have been talked about as much as it is now because troops back then probably just wanted to forget everything that they saw. Now, we know what's going on over there through the news and we don't have to hear about it from a soldier.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Jenna is right when she says the soldiers feel the same way about defending their country now as well as then. I think, however, the reason more soldiers experience PTSD now is because fighting is a lot more brutal, and a lot less common. In WWII, the US had just gone through a previous war, and it seemed like war followed war, so people were used to the idea of fighting for the country. Also, during WWII, America became involved because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This surprise attack got a lot of reactions from Americans, including a sense of nationalism. They wanted to fight more of the country to defend America's honor and to avenge those who lost their lives in the attack. In Vietnam, we never had a massive attack on the US that caused a surge of national pride, so the war is more traumatic and the soldiers maybe less enthusiastic about killing.
ReplyDeleteWar has become much more traumatic since WWII. Not necessarily in the number of deaths, but how the war is portrayed. Americans know almost every detail of the war through news, magazines, articles, and movies. Back then, the public wasnt as informed about the happenings of war, and again, weapons and technology make a huge impact about the types of things soldiers are seeing while at war. Things like suicide bombers and body bombs are more common now then back then, which could cause symptoms of PTSD.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Technology has advanced and that makes war a lot worse. Medicine has also advanced too. The reason more people are diagnosed with PTSD could be worse war conditions or that now medicine is advanced more and we can tell if someone has PTSD or not easier. During World War II many soldiers were probably unaware of the symptoms and ignored it. Today we are all very aware of physiological problems and know the signs to many of them.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the time people are over diagnosed. It seems like today there is always a disease or problem name for any type of ailment that people have. PTSD is a real disease, but i think that there are so many people who are diagnosed with it in today's war because the minute a soldier comes back with stress from the war, which is not only common but acceptable, they diagnose it as PTSD. Then the person could get more stressed and their overall mentality is diminished, and they become crazier than they actually were.
ReplyDeleteIn todays society, war has become more traumatic for soldiers. Sophie is right when she explained that today, wars are less common. In the past, many wars followed more wars. Some were inevitable, and some were unexpected. Since more people are diagnosed with PTSD now, war conditions must be worse. Since technology is becoming more and more advanced, more soldiers are being diagnosed with PTSD. In past wars, many soldiers might have felt that what they were feeling was normal, when just going through war. Soldiers were "tougher" and did not let PTSD affect their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that the number of soldiers diagnosed the PTSD is staggering in the Iraq War is because there are many soldiers that come home. The number of casualties is significantly less than in any other war. The US troops death count as of 2009 is 4500. That is a fraction of even teh civilian deaths in World War II. If this many soldiers returned home after World War II, I think their diagnosis rate would be just as high.
ReplyDeleteErin makes a very good point that many soldiers are coming home while in WWII many of them died. Also Sophie makes a good point that people are over diagnosed today. Of course many of the cases are real but stress will come from any war it takes time to get over the horrors seen. Maybe during WWII the soldiers were under diagnosed. It is very interesting the difference in statistics and as Jackie said in the beginning the soldiers did seem very proud to be fighting but today we see the horrors. Technology plays a huge role in our lives and that effects everything we see and do.
ReplyDeletei agree with Meghan when she says that the technology plays a large part in affecting lives. With the technology to video chat with family and friends, or call or text them while stationed in war, the soldiers in Iraq missed them more than the soldiers in WWII, who said goodbye to their family and did not see them again for months. That separation and isolation made them less aware of the fact they couldn't see their loved ones for a long time, whereas soldiers these days get to see their families and feel how much they miss them every time they sign on to chat or talk on the phone
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement reguarding technology. I do not think that one war was worse than the other because it is all relevent to the times that the people live in. Both wars were very tramatizing to the soldiers. Because the technology was different back then the people were murdered another way, but in both wars each soldier witnessed/ witnesses murders in large amounts.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that now people are diagnosed with diseases and disorders more than ever. It seems that whenever someone has a problem they want to put a name to it. In the case of soldiers it is probably good that more are being diagnosed in order to have some treatment.
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