March 5, 2017 New Web Feature Highlights Veterans Living with PTSD

The Veterans History Project (VHP) today launched “PTSD: A Lasting Impact of War,” the latest installment in its online “Experiencing War” website series.

The site examines 12 digitized collections found in the VHP archive, all of which include veterans describing their military service, its impact on their mental health and the challenges they have faced in finding the care they need while living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Some of the veterans featured were diagnosed as a result of serving in combat or being held as prisoners of war (POW), while others experienced the trauma of sexual assault. The veterans, ranging from World War II to the Iraq War, represent a variety of branches, service locations and military roles.

One of the featured collections is that of Ralph Earl Moulis, a WWII Army Air Corps veteran who had flown more than two dozen missions before being shot down by German forces and held as a POW.  He escaped 14 months later, but was left with mental scars that manifested as flashbacks, difficulty sleeping and strained personal relationships.

For nuclear missile crewman Reynaldo Puente, the mental stress and anxiety caused by being in a constant state of high alert during the Cold War caused PTSD.  He longed, to no avail, for a medical cure-all that would put an end to his nightmares, so that he could sleep peacefully.

Wendy Marie Wamsley Taines enlisted in 1990 during the Persian Gulf War.  When she left the Army the following year, she was a different woman.  It wasn’t until 10 years later that she was diagnosed with PTSD, and finally sought the help she needed.

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand remembrances of America’s war veterans from WWI through the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. For more information, visit loc.gov/vets/ or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive periodic updates of VHP news.  Follow VHP on Facebook at facebook.com/vetshistoryproject/.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.