SENTINEL WATCH October 16, 2006 Issue

DEFEAT WARTIME NIGHTMARES

DAVID G. SHIELDS

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN MARCH by researchers from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found that more than one third of the troops who have served in Iraq have sought help for mental problems within a year of returning home (Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2006).

That study prompted me to ask, What can I do to support these young men and women? They deserve better, I thought, after they've risked their lives in the military.

I was reminded of the days shortly after my return from Vietnam in September 1970. Although I hadn't seen hand-to-hand combat, I needed to find freedom from mental struggles associated with what I'd encountered there. Fortunately, a close friend of the family helped comfort me. For probably a week or more, she spent hours with me, right into the night, helping me understand my relationship with God.