shadowangel said:
I believe that is a very good possibility. POWs of the Korean and Viet Nam Wars experienced tremendous difficulty in readjusting to civilian life. Also keep in mind the events themselves of the Korean War. ...
Could this man, intelligent and thoughtful, have been a veteran of WWII, who had returned from years of combat and began an academic career as either a student or instructor, only to be pulled away again? Possbily captured and tortured? His mind, though changed by the events of war, trying to hold to the memories of the life he was trying to build?
Suicide does not seem so far-fetched in light of these possibilities.
The US Army at the start of the Korean War was not well trained or equipped to fight that sort of war. NOT that they didn't put up a good fight against tremendous odds, but in that there had been a tremendous downsizing following WW II. All of the weapons and equipment used in Korea were WW II Surplus.
I found the following information on a Korean War Veterans website, which I thought interesting and possibly pertenant to this discussion. Although this man might not have been a Veteran, he was very obviously suffering mentally from some sort of stress.
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been around for a very long time. Military medicine had recognized this condition with a variety of labels. During the Civil War the condition was called "Soldier's Heart." By WWI, it was re-named "Shell Shock," and during WWII, "Battle Fatigue." Korean War veterans were diagnosed with "War Neurosis," and "Vietnam Syndrome" was the label for that generation of veterans. The Veterans Administration (VA) was service-connecting former combatants with a "Nervous Condition" or some other type of disorder prior to the advent of PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Criteria for diagnosing PTSD are published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (commonly referred to as the DSM-IV). PTSD first appeared in this manual, published by the APA, in 1980 after significant research studies with Vietnam combat veterans.
PTSD may occur after a person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which the person experienced or witnessed an event that involved death, serious injury, or mass destruction. This could include events that occur in war, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism, crime or abuse.
For veterans, in particular, stressful traumatic events include combat zones, peacekeeping missions, training accidents, disasters, medical emergencies, and assaults. These events cause the survivor to react with intense fear, helplessness, hopelessness and horror.
Symptoms of PTSD include, but are not limited to:
- Recurrent, intrusive, and distressing thoughts about the event
- Recurrent dreams, nightmares (sometimes called "night-terrors") about the event
- Flashbacks (a sense of reliving the event)
- Distress caused by reminders of the event (sights, sounds, smells)
- Alienation, isolation, and avoidance of people and places
- Emotional numbing
- No sense of future
- Survivor guilt (for having survived when others did not, or for behavior required for survival)
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Anger and rage
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering
- Hyper-vigilant, or survivalist behavior
- Exaggerated startled response (usually to loud noises)
These symptoms may lead to substance abuse or other self-destructive addictive behavior.