Because a percentage of our readership comes from abroad, and because the topic we cover is relevant internationally, today we note that the British press reported yesterday in two different articles how veteran combatants from the Falklands conflict are journeying back to confront the ghosts of their combat experience. The Scotsman (Scotland) and the Guardian (England) both have articles on the subject, with much shared content between the two.
The award-winning Guardian, consistently a great source of news and perspective, notes that "Two hundred and fifty Falklands war veterans - many still suffering psychological trauma from the conflict - will return to the islands this week. Their arrival and tour around local battlefields is timed to coincide with the 25th annual Remembrance Day Service [the British version of our Veteran's Day] since the 1982 Argentinian invasion." Furthermore, "among the former servicemen and women flying out are a group diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who are hoping to exorcise the ghosts of the past."
The excellent Guardian also has new video they've created to honor the 25th anniversary of the war -- "watch the soldiers who were there relive their experiences and follow the war as it unfolded" -- and, if you're a history buff or just blank on what the Falklands War was all about, there's WIkipedia and this interactive guide on the Guardian's own site to clear up the confusion.
The Scotsman adds detail as well:
"SEVENTY former servicemen still battling with the psychological trauma of fighting in the Falklands War will fly to the islands today to face the ghosts of 25 years ago. The men, suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are among a group of 250 veterans from the 1982 conflict taking part in an anniversary pilgrimage to the battlefields in the South Atlantic.
For most of the men on the heavily over-subscribed [meaning, far more people signed up than were actually able to go] visit it will be their first time back since the British victory over Argentina. The islanders - the population is less than 3,000 - are throwing open the doors to accommodate the party, including 15 relatives of those who died in the conflict, in their homes. Organizers of the visit said that many local people have taken a week off work and offered their services as drivers for the party. One has even put a plane at their disposal to take them to outlying islands where they fought.
The event is being organized jointly by the main Falklands veterans body the South Atlantic Medal Association, and Combat Stress, the charity that works with ex-servicemen and women who are suffering psychological disabilities. Combat Stress is providing around ten trained clinical support staff.
As well as those suffering PTSD many making the visit suffered major physical injuries such as losing limbs. Colonel Mike Bowles (retired), the chairman of the organizers, said: "Some of these guys did go through horrific experiences and saw horrific things. "I think going back and being able to be in a place and think about it and sit and maybe have some people around you, does help people come to terms with it."
But Col Bowles said the trip was also about seeing how the islands that they fought to liberate are thriving in 2007, and meeting the islanders themselves. A total of 255 British servicemen and more than 600 Argentineans were killed in the war which ended the 74-day occupation of the islands.
Editor's Notes: (Highly miscellaneous.) We've written about Combat Stress before. See hyperlink. It's the British variant on our term, combat trauma. It's also the name of a service organization for combat veterans who suffer from PTSD in England.
On a more serious note, notice how this event is happening 25 years after the conflict. There seems to be a gigantic, painful lag in experiencing symptoms and confronting the past -- perhaps because of how painful it is, or how deeply the memories are buried. This is consistent with our Vietnam veterans making trips back to Vietnam in recent years to confront the ghosts of their pasts there, and with decorated war heroes from that conflict, such as Max Cleland, who for many years headed the VA, taking 20+ years to realize that he was suffering from combat trauma himself. In other words, it's likely to be a long, hard wait for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to be able to confront these experiences themselves, though we hope through many related efforts the cycle time is much shorter, for their sake.
As Maxine Hong Kingston told me when I asked her how quickly vets were interested in writing (even for themselves) about what they'd gone through, she said that in her experience it had taken 20 years to come forward. Perhaps that time from now on can be shorter -- but I think it underscores the gravity of the experience, and what these veterans have suffered, that it generally speaking takes that long. Ouch. Let's have as a goal, trying to close that particular loop, gracefully and graciously, with current veterans in a whole lot less time.
