Fourth homeless man stabbed tonight in my area -- police have a suspect in custody.

[tiredmommy]

Janet~ There are accounts of this sort of thing going back to WWI, they called it being "shell shocked" then. Not everyone with PTSD caused by combat becomes violent, but they often exhibit anxiety and adjustment problems when they come home. I think we just hear about it more.

[InsaneCdn]

Seems to me from all accounts I have seen or heard that the service members returned home and took up where they left off.

Janet...
IRL? Back then, there were plenty who went off the deep end in one form or another - including a great uncle of mine. Not necessarily the killing-spree stuff (although that happened too), but mental health breakdowns, suicide, etc. All of it has always been part of war. We (us human beings) really don't handle war well.

BUT... back then, it was all "swept under the carpet". Nobody reported this stuff, or if it was a series of murders, nobody tied it to military duty. Nobody wanted to tarnish the image of the armed forces.

We just hear about it a lot more now.

[gcvmom]

I tend to agree with TM and IC on this issue. Another point is that people generally had family or extended family to support them through the transition. And when they came back, their communities were also very supportive. And if they didn't have a support network? Alcoholism was an easy band-aid for their inner chaos. Though there are lots more services available for vets -- it seems this family did not push hard enough to get him help. But what do you do when you've got a young adult who's resistant to keeping their mental health appointment? Not much you CAN do. Another issue is this family's culture and how much did that play into the situation? Mental illness is a huge elephant-in-the-room for a lot of ethnic groups.

It's just horribly tragic all the way around, and there's no doubt he's looking at the death penalty.

[DDD]

Personally I think there is a big difference between WWII and the subsequent wars and because of that difference we are seeing more bizarre aftermaths. I come from a military family so don't think I'm a far out radical. WWII was embraced as a National cause. It touched all families in some ways and all citizens were impacted by rationing, workplace changes and alot of subtle propaganda via newsreels and magazines. There was a demonization of our enemies to the point that as children we were all afraid of the Japanese...and to some extent the Germans. The images and news we got were aimed at uniting Americans of all ages against the enemy.

Korea was vastly different because not so many families were impacted, alot of people thought we should "leave them alone" and the coverage was limited. Then when Vietnam came along there was a huge difference in media access. Every night on television the average American saw "war" in real time.As a result there were protests that also were televised and written up in the newspapers/mags. The same people who thought we should "leave the Koreans alone" now became convinced we should "leave the Vietnamese alone". It was an expensive "conflict" and alot of negetavism arose. Now in more current history young people are being sent to far off places and with the media almost every one knows that there are violent acts perpetrated by Americans as well as the "enemy". It doesn't inspire blind pride like WWII did...not for citizens and not for those soldiers coming home after being a part of disillusioning deployments.

So, imho, that is why PTSD is apparently rampant. The National support is not there for the cause or for those who lived through deplorable conditions. My brother is 81 (I think,lol) and when he was in his early 60's he happened into a lounge that happened to have a rather large group of Vietnam vets.
He called me a month later and told me "I finally talked about Nam with others who were there and it felt good." He had a family so there were opportunities for him to share but it was over forty years before he felt comfortable talking about it. Those w/o families or services internalize because what they lived through included immoral acts, loss of friends and fear. Really sad. The WWII vets were praised for saving our Country. Big difference. Also, very very sad. DDD

[donna723]

You're right, DDD. Returning WWII vets were treated like the heros they were. They returned to the full support of the public even though there wasn't a lot of real professional help available to them. Families were probably closer back then too so they got lots of support from loved ones. Vietnam vets were often looked down upon and called "baby burners". Both of my brothers served in Vietnam and to this day, neither one talks about it at all.

I'm glad to see that it's being handled differently with the servicemen and women returning from Iraq. We're not that far from the Ft. Campbell military base and the local TV stations provide coverage of every group of returning soldiers, the reunions with their families.

[gcvmom]

Another thing that's freaking me out is that this guy lived just a few miles from our house. Went to the same library we go to (where he killed one of the victims), and it is believed he selected the last victim from a newspaper article about the killings in which the victim was pictured with an officer who was out warning him and other homeless in the area to be careful and consider going to a shelter until the guy was caught.

The girl PC carpools with said this morning that the younger sister (age 12) of the suspect was in her class in elementary school last year. This is the second multiple homicide by an unstable individual (8 killed last time) we've had in this county in 6 months. Unbelievable.