June is replete with military significant events such as the anniversary of D-Day in World War II, the anniversary of the outset of the Korean War, the United Statesí Armyís 246th birthday, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder awareness month.This year is the 77th anniversary of D-Day, the largest Allied invasion of World War II on the Normandy beaches in 1944. It was a crucial moment and turned the tide of the war in the Alliesí favor. The most recent American Legion Magazine includes journal entries from a 14-year-old French boy, Paul Renaud, from June 1 through June 7. He chronicles the liberation of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, a French town regarded as Kilometer 0 in the march to victory in the European theater. Three battalions of paratroopers landed on June 5 through June 6 to secure the town. The Germanís counterattack from perhaps neighboring towns trapped townspeople in a trench as they took refuge in between the Allies and German fighting. Renaud ends his night of June 6 into June 7 with, ìA short time later, we hear tanks on the road from Ravenoville. The Yankees arrive. We are safe.îShortly after the historic win of World War II came the Korean War ó also known as the forgotten war, possibly due to the fact that it was never officially declared a war. According to Air Force Magazine, to get around the necessity of asking Congress to declare war, President Truman called it a ìpolice action.îAfter the surrender of Japan in August 1945, Korea, which was under Japanese control, was split on the 38th Parallel. From History.com, the north half was occupied by the Soviet Union where they set up a communist government, and the United States gave financial and military support to the southern half, encouraging a republic.On June 25, 1950, the North Korean Peopleís Army surprised South Koreaís forces and quickly headed toward the southern capital of Seoul. According to the United Nations Security Council Resolutions website, Resolution 83 determined that the armed attack constituted a breach of peace. It recommended that members of the United Nations provide South Korea with assistance to repel the armed attack and restore international peace and security to the area.Cold War tensions were a prominent element in the conflict. According to ThoughtCo.com, the Korean War saw the United States follow its policy of containment as it worked to block aggression and halt the spread of communism. As such, the Korean War may be seen as one of the many proxy wars fought during the Cold War.The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was a defining moment in the war. From the Official U.S. Marine Corps website in a story by Ned Forney, ìChangjinî as it is called in Korea, was a two-week-long bloodbath pitting 30,000 U.S., Republic of Korea and British troops against 120,000 Chinese soldiers.Fighting in the winter of 1950 in bitter cold and brutal terrain, men endured severe frostbite, sleepless nights and total mental and physical exhaustion. Below-zero temperatures, snow-covered mountains, icy roads and wind-swept cliffs made every skirmish, firefight, and attack a nightmare beyond imagination. With tens of thousands of young Americans and Chinese locked in eye-to-eye, hand-to-hand combat in the desolate, freezing mountains surrounding the Chosin Reservoir, the death toll soared.By late November 1950, 1st Marine Division and 31st Regimental Combat Team, surrounded and vastly outnumbered, were on the verge of annihilation. As casualties mounted, the generals realized there was only one way to avoid a catastrophic defeat: break out to the sea. By the time U.S. forces, with thousands of North Korean refugees in tow, reached the evacuation beaches, nearly 6,000 Americans were dead or missing; thousands more were wounded. None of the men who survived the horrific battle would ever be the same. Today they are called ìThe Chosin Few.îA commonality between all wars is the presence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the U.S. Department of Veteranís Affairs website, descriptions of PTSD symptoms can be dated back to the 1700s and even earlier in literary accounts by Homer (ìIliadî), Shakespeare (ìHenry IVî) and Charles Dickens (ìA Tale of Two Citiesî). In 1761, an Austrian physician, Josef Leopold Auenbrugger, wrote about ìnostalgiaî among soldiers who experienced military trauma, reporting missing home, sleep problems, anxiety and feeling sad. In the Civil War, it was called “soldier’s heart” or “irritable heartî ó soldiers were often returned to battle after receiving drugs to treat the symptoms.Throughout time, the symptoms have remained generally the same but the name constantly changes. From the VAís website, some symptoms of present-day PTSD were known as “shell shock” because they were seen as a reaction to the explosion of artillery shells. “War neuroses” was also a name given to the condition during this time. As treatment, soldiers may have received a few days rest before returning to the war zone. In World War II, the diagnosis was replaced by Combat Stress Reaction, also known as “battle fatigue.” With long surges common in World War II, soldiers became battle weary and exhausted. Up to half of the WW II military discharges were said to be due to combat exhaustion.Finally in 1980, the American Psychiatric Association added PTSD to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. From ptsd.va.gov, recent data shows about four out of every 100 American men (or 4%) and 10 out every 100 American women (or 10%) will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime.In 2010, Sen. Kent Conrad pushed to get official recognition of PTSD via a ìday of awarenessî in tribute to a North Dakota National Guard member who took his life following two tours in Iraq.In 2014, the Senate designated the full month of June for ìNational Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month.î The recognition is intended to raise public awareness about issues related to PTSD, reduce the stigma association with PTSD and help ensure that those suffering from the invisible wounds of war receive proper treatment.
