Dear FRONTLINE,
I was deeply moved by the responses of the veterans to this discussion. For what it's worth, men and woman out there who have served and suffered, your pain is understandable and unimaginable. I am studying for a Master's in Counseling Education. This program fuels a great desire in my heart to support our troops by expanding mental health services to them. God bless you all!
Tammy Siegall
Chicago, Il.
Dear FRONTLINE,
Watching your program "a soldiers heart" was a very moving experience that all of us who suffer from pstd can relate to. Having had pstd for thirty years it is about time it is recognized as a liability that affects a human being for the rest of his/her lifetime. There is no way as far as I know how to predict who will fall with the trauma they see and feel. The stigma only further dehumanizes those who suffer. Our greatest sorrow is to turn away and abandon those in need of help. Their lives depend on it. We all end up paying now or paying later, so do our families and friends. Thanks for the show.
Becky Coffeen
Laramie, Wyoming
Dear FRONTLINE,
I can't find the words to thank you for doing this piece. I'm an exMarine Vietnam Vet and 50% disabled for PTSD. I'm extremely concerned about the men returning from Iraq right now and we need to do something immediately upon their return... I don't believe we can prevent the effects of war on these men... that has already occurred... but we can definitely make a difference in how these men understand what they can expect in the months and years to come. The VA is having it's budget slashed when it's most needed. Isn't it odd that in the Medicaid Reform Bill that we could find 1 BILLION dollars to fund emergency room treatment for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and at the same time we can't find the money to fund the VA. I would like to see Vietnam vets find some vehicle to reach out and meet with these guys to help them over the immediate impact of what they have experienced. I know from experience that if you wait for the VA to help you'll be a long time waiting.
Hurricane, Utah
Dear FRONTLINE,
I sympathize with the soldiers coming back from Iraq who are suffering combat related stress. As a Vietnam vet I saw many ugly things but one incident in particular just blew my mind. Up to that incident I thought I was handling the stress of combat fairly well. But I was wrong. That one incident left me shaken and 37 years later still bothered by it. You "never get over it" like the military tries to tell the those people in Iraq. That's a cop out. I had a high school friend, a Vietnam vet in the Marines who committed suicide in 1996. He volunteered to go back to Vietnam. On the day he was to depart to California he had a breakdown at the airport. He was never the same afterwards. Nightmares, anxiety, everything related to PTSD. Just took its toll. "Get Over it?" That's BS. Those desk jocks need to get out there in the fighting so they can see for themselves what it's like.
daniel garcia
san antonio, texas
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a Vietnam vet I can empathize with those Iraqi veterans in your Frontline documentary. What is positive is that the current vet is able to discuss his problem with a professional. I've suffered from what I have self diagnosed as PTSD for the past 35 years. For a Vietnam vet to discuss a problem with a professional is a basic taboo. After all we were always thought to be mentally unstable, seeking professional help would just add fuel to the fire. Although I do have PTSD, I've been able to control it for the most part. The unfortunate thing is that a TV program, a public event or some other situation can trigger an adverse response, even after 35 years. This I feel will be the situation with current vets suffering from battle related mental disorders.
George Arluna
Waldwick, NJ
Dear FRONTLINE,
Thank you for a great presentation. It should come as no suprise that PTSD is a growing concern, no longer swept under the rug of "get over it". WWII was the last war fought with any sense of moral certainty. Recent military actions have been based on political ideology and expediency. Add to that an educated and informed populace (both civilian and military) and you have fertile ground for self doubt, as well as questioning policy decisions. Thanks again.
Columbia, Tennessee
Dear FRONTLINE,
I have very much appreciated your reporting over all this time. Your inciteful reports have helped me understand complex issues better and more thoughtfully. "The Soldier's Heart" is a strong and compelling piece however it seemed not to cover in any depth the increasingly complicated role our soldiers are required to play and therefore the fallout on these men and women.
In an urban war, amongst civilians, who is the enemy? Like Vietnam and Korea in some ways, there are many ways we, as plain Americans fighting in a foreign country without language and culture skills, cannot know. No doubt, these brave Marines get incredible training. But another report on your list should be a sequel of a sort - what is the training that our military gets in these areas of culture and language. And what is the fall out - good and bad. Thank you for all you do.
norfolk, va
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a Vietnam combat vet and a PTSD therapist in the VA, but more importantly as an American citizen, I believe that we, as a nation, have a responsibility for those whom we send in harm's way, to provide both medical and psychological care which serves to offset the suffering of these men and women. If not, in good consciousness, how can we send our own people off to war, no matter how just the cause? We have to honestly face up to the human costs of making war, not just the material ones. Otherwise no president or Congress should ask us to send our daughters and sons off to be sacrificed, to be discarded or left to fend for themselves upon their return. The shame would be on us...
William Mark
Bedford, Ma
Dear FRONTLINE,
I enjoyed some of your show, but the title was misleading. As a veteran of 7 years, one of them being spent in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the first gulf war, I was dissapointed by the subtitle.
In my opinion you should not refer to "the soldier's heart" in this manner. When I saw your show about the soldier's in Iraq last week I was surprised as I don't see your network being very supportive of the Bush administration or his policies.
So I decided to watch tonight based on that experience and the title.
This show should have been titled something like "the psychological cost of war". When you say 'the soldier's heart' you are speaking of something completly different than PTSD. The 'heart' of a soldier is what has kept our country free since its beginning and I hope it will for centuries to come.
To me when you speak of the soldier's heart you are speaking about patriotism, duty and honor. The soldier's heart is about the gut feeling many young men and women have about service to their country, not the pain of dealing with the tragedy of war.
Nobody I knew in the military relished the idea of killing, but most understood, or learned early in life that there are plenty of people in our world that will take our freedoms away if we let them. They had the 'heart' to do their small part to protect our country, whether it be in a time of peace or war.
By all means we should acknowledge PTSD and aggressively help those who struggle with the mental aspect of what happens in war, but lets avoid going out to find every "heart wrenching case" we can to prove a point. For goodness sake if we follow your premise Tom Brokaw's greatest generation would all be dead of suicide or locked up in mental institutions.
Please do me a favor and avoid talking about the heart of solider in this manner, it is totally off track and unrepresentative of the true meaning in this proud veterans opinion.
Doug Graff
Rockvale, Tennessee
Dear FRONTLINE,
I served as a Marine in the first Gulf War. I have been treated for PTSD for a couple years now and can relate to alot of the experiences that were expressed during the show. I just want to say that the VA is not the military and can help anyone who is suffering from this. You don't have to suffer alone.
Troy Goodman
Reading, PA
Dear FRONTLINE,
Great show again on combat stress. Your careful analysis of the subject does a good job telling the complicated story of combat stress. Right now the Army expects one in four soldiers coming back from Iraq will have PTSD. Their refusal to address the seriousness of personnel shortfalls in the force creates this problem. Individuals are still getting fed into the fight as individuals, just like in Vietnam. Nowadays most units are understrength. Prior to going Units are getting at times 60 or 70% new people before they get deployed. They are not the coesive bonded unit that helps reduce PTSD cases. They are a group of individuals. Then the op tempo means the soldiers will come home and have to turn back around and do it again. This already has been going on years. The Administration has refused to increase the size of the force. They prefer to run the existing people into the ground. Then they go out and cut VA benefits, even after their director says he can't meet the demand the Iraq war is creating.
Tom Magee
OP, KS
Dear FRONTLINE,
Thank you for the program, "The Soldier's Heart." My soldier will be returning from Iraq for the 2nd time at Christmas. What I watched will be helpful to me as he reintegrates himself back home --again.
Pratt, KS
Dear FRONTLINE,
The most amazing frontline I have ever seen. To see the bravery of each of those men and what they dealt with in Iraq and are dealing with now, it makes me wonder why we are battling this war.
Laura D
sprinboro, ohio
