Are World War II veterans tougher...?

Question

than Vietnam veterans? I watch war documentaries sometimes on PBS or the History Channel and the WWII veterans seem to have coped relatively well with all the ugliness they say in the war as opposed to Vietnam guys that seem to have a disproportionate amount of post traumatic stress disorder. Are people from the world war II generation just fundamentally tougher?

Answer 1

Theres something that you have to consider here my young friend. Post Traumatic Stress wasn't something that was widely recognized during WW2. It was termed "shell shocked" or "battle fatigue" but wasn't treated anywhere near as it should have been then as it was during Vietnam or henceforth. If you read Audie Murphy's biography he was a prime example. He came home a hero with the Medal of Honor because he fought like a banshee and climbed atop a buring German tank Destroyer and gunned down 22 German soldiers who were trying to take out his position. Murphy ended up having horrible dreams, lost sleep, fell into alcoholisim and was wildly uncontrollable at times. The same with Ira Hayes. You just can't see bodies dismembered, ripped open, headless, burned to a cinder or hear men screaming and calling for their mother when they're dying or being executed as many were rather than taken prisoner and not have that affect you. The soldier Patton slapped was suffering from the same thing. Its a sign of what the times were.
In addition, WW2 was the last war fought for a 'real' cause. It was to stop the spread and existence of fascisim. Both German and Japanese Imperialisim that were hell bent on world domination. No other war that has been fought since has had that as a reason for cause. Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars were and are all political. I mean really....think Saddam Hussein was really a threat like Adolph Hitler and Tojo? Not quite. Not even close. So you see. There are some mitigating factors here that need to be considered.

An excellent question too sport. Thanks for asking.

Answer 2

WW II vets did/do suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. I don't think that things like that were talked about or even acknowledged. Do some research and try to find out if there was a rise in alcoholism and suicides when the men came back to piece their lives back together. Those men were rightfully treated like heroes, and that may have helped a bit. The Vietnam vets were treated like sh#$ when they came home. I can't even imagine how they felt. They were/are real men. And just as tough as anyone else.

Answer 3

When My father left Germany in 1946 after the war He had been out of combat for 6 months before he came home, and then he took a boat home and that took weeks, When you left Viet Nam on a plane one day your getting shot at the next day your in San Francisco Airport, talk about culture shock, a door slams and you are ready to kill or be killed. PT SD was called other things in WW2 and WW1 but it still killed and maimed guys, no one talked much about it then, I knew a WW1 Vet who was in the hospital from 1918 until 1936 then in and out til he died. There was never a good war, and men are just the same and so is the horror of war, each deals with it different many other major differences as well, such as clearly defined enemy wearing a uniform the front was up front mostly not anywhere your at, in country. Just a few of the differences

Answer 4

This could be a possibility. The things that they witnessed were much alike, contrary to popular knowledge. (I used to council Vets inmy job with a labor department and I am a vet myself and military history buff.) The WWII Vets did seem to handle things in stride as opposed to the VietNam vets. The way that they reacted to the Gulf War and the current war are yet another set of different responses. One thing that you might notice if you talk to them personally, is that WWII vets tend to be very mild mannered individuals than those ornery old VietNam vets (you gotta love 'em!) Is it due to their age? Is it due to the differences in the attention that our government and media/advances in communications have given to the groups? How about the differneces in the way that society viewed them after the war? I think that a major factor to consider in this was the difference in society in general, not just the military. After all, there are major differences in each generation of the populace, whether they are military members or not.

Answer 5

I believe the Wehrmacht (German army) were the most effective force, with small numbers they managed to win some incredible battles. Many consider the Japanese to be the bravest/most fanatical. The USA didn't beat Germany, it was the Red Army that did that, but the combined allied forces in the west certainly made a difference (In the N.African campaign for example. Finland put up a very impressive defence against the Russians too. But by the end of the war the US troops were the best equiped and had the best training, but less experiance than many German and British troops.

Answer 6

The vets I've heard talk in documentaries say they still get those dreams now and then. I was talking to someone about getting some WW II films added to our collection here in the Library, and a man I was sitting next to heard me mention the Battle of the Bulge. He was telling me about it (he'd been with one of the Armored units, out of gas, out of ammo, and out of everything but Germans all around) and his wife was getting this look on her face, like she wished I hadn't reminded him of the war.

The WW II vets will also tell you that back then it was called "Nervous out of the Service" instead of Post traumatic Stress disorder.

I recommend Ken Burns' The War. If you listen to some of those guys tell their stories, like the ex Carlson's Raider talking about the night on Guadalcanal, when one guy got shot on patrol and the rest were all hunkered down and the wounded guy was moaning all night. It's the end of that story that seems to give him the far off look.

Answer 7

A better Q would be, why did the public support the troops in WWII and not Viet Nam.
I served my country in Nam, just like them and was treated like crap. Why didn't they do for us what we are now doing for the current vets. Most of the VN vets I know, are ashamed of being in Nam,
The style of fighting with distinct front lines made WWII much different then fighting an invisible force. Trying to enforce laws in a combat zone is ludicrous. Sitting home watching war on the all news networks, has made most people insensitive to the reality of madness and violence...

Answer 8

have to keep in mind that before ww2 the people, the world as a whole really, had to suffer through the great depression, surviving that for nearly ten years toughens up anyone, Vietnam vets were mostly the kids of the ww2 vets, and most of them wanted to be sure that their kids didn't have to go through their early years the way they did, so in a way they didn't prepare them for the brutality of war

Answer 9

Vietnam veterans were a relatively small proportion of society and probably felt more isolated and unappreciated compared with those of WW2 when everybody had gone through a shared experience

Answer 10

My father, who served in the Pacific in WWII, had flash backs and other problems in his later years right up until he died a few years ago.