From the Second World War to Vietnam: Historical, Clinical, and Personal Reflections on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Based upon a cache of clinical histories from 1943–1945—actual carbon copies of case records—the author reflects on the history of theories and treatments of PTSD, re-examines his clinical case notes for soldiers during the Second World War, and recalls his work as a psychiatrist in field hospitals in the Pacific Theater. The author compares the clinical syndromes of PTSD as they appeared in patients from the Second World War and the Vietnam era.