Brunell: Greatest generation slipping into history

In his book, Tom Brokaw called them our “Greatest Generation.” He wrote these men and women fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the “right thing to do.”

“They grew up during the Great Depression and went on to fight in WWII and contributed to the war effort on the home front,” Brokaw added.

WWII impacted every family. My father and his two brothers were Army veterans who served in the Pacific and European theaters. Letters from the battlefront were sporadic and my grandparents lived with the fear that representatives from the War Department would show up on their doorstep with the news that one of their sons was either killed or missing in action.

Even with today’s modern communications, war is difficult for many families who have loved ones deployed in foreign combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It is equally hard for those whose relatives have been killed or suffer from permanent psychological and physical wounds.

There is a new appreciation for our military that was absent during the Vietnam conflict. And, thankfully we are addressing important psychological needs such as post-traumatic stress disorder. We now recognize that mental and emotional wounds are as serious as loss of limbs or mobility.

Once called shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome, it is a serious condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD extends beyond the military to law enforcement, emergency responders, rape victims, and those suffering the consequences of heinous crimes and disasters.

We are just scratching the surface of PTSD. While many WWII veterans coped with shell shock by parking it in the back of their minds and hoping it would just go away, we are learning PTSD needs to be treated. Hiding it can lead to suicide.

In the United States, more than 40,000 people commit suicide each year. USA Today reports last year, 325 active-duty troops died by suicide, a rate of 24.8 per 100,000. The civilian suicide rate is 18 per 100,000.

While it is undocumented, the suicide rate among our military in WWII was thought to be much less than it is today. After WWII, there are speculations it may have been under reported.

Perhaps we can learn from WWII documents. That is a good reason to keep the memory of America’s greatest generation, and veterans such as George Hursey, alive. Studying their lives may unlock information helpful to treating emotional disorders.